I Wanna Know What Love Is
by Gabbymadd22
Summary: Sam and Rachel are dating while he's a senior in high school and she's at NYADA. They both know that long-distant relationships are hard, but soon their love will be put to the test when new people come into the picture, and one of them will face the consequences when temptation gets in the way.
1. First Week Blues

**Hey, everybody, and welcome to my new project!**

**Just a word of wise, this is _NOT _a sequel to _Cause My Love is Secret_. This is a brand new story that takes place during season four (and a bit of season five, but that season is terrible already). I'll be introducing Brody whose role was pretty cool until Finn convinced him to go away (grr) and Penny because she's a pain in my blank who definitely looks like she'd be a good conflict started if Sam and Rachel were ever a couple. I swear, she makes me wanna stomp her into the ground...**

**But anyways, enjoy my story.**

**There will be minimal Samchel interaction in the beginning because it will be switching back and forth between Rachel's interactions at NYADA and Sam's interactions at McKinley. They'll meet up at random times though. I'm doing this because it will focus more on their feelings being apart, but it will get more dramatic towards the end, I promise.**

**This first chapter will have minimal Samchel interaction, but I'll be introducing Brody. I guess you can skip it...I just need a starting point.**

_**8 a.m.**_

Rachel's alarm on her phone beeped loudly as she reached under her pillow to turn it off. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Grabbing her brush off the nightstand, she brushed out the tangles in her hair and stretched.

Soon, it was 8:15, time to Face-time Sam!

She hit the Face-time button on her phone, knowing that he would be fully awake and still getting ready for school. Finally, his cheerful face appeared on the screen. She admired how great he looked in his Letterman jacket and how his hair was still damp from a shower. He seemed to be sitting in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal.

"Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty!"

She giggled. "Good morning, my handsome prince. Are you ready for your first day of senior year?"

He nodded. "You bet. What are you up to today?"

She scratched her head. "Well Kurt and I are going to head to NYADA to pick up our schedules and I'm getting settled in my dorm and meeting my roommate. I start classes tomorrow."

"Oh, you're not staying with Kurt at his Aunt's house for the semester?"

She shrugged. "I want a _real _college experience, Sam. Kurt's only staying here a little longer and we're going to go apartment hunting."

Sam grinned. "Ah, soon you both will be living the glorious apartment life like me and Puck."

She nodded. "You bet we are."

"Sam, are you awake yet?" She head Puck call out in the background.

Sam turned over his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm jut eating breakfast and Face-timing with Rachel."

Suddenly, Puck came into the kitchen wearing only his boxers.

Rachel blushed and covered her eyes. "My goodness, Noah, put some clothes on!"

Puck smiled and flexed his muscles. "Aww, my hot Jewish-American Princess not into _this _anymore?"

Sam chuckled. "Seriously, Puck, go put some clothes on. I'm gonna be late."

Puck rolled his eyes and grabbed the carton of milk off the table. "You'll be on time, I promise."

"Oh, is Noah driving you to school?" Rachel asked.

Sam sighed. "Yeah, my truck's in the shop for a while. Thank god, Kurt's Dad can fix it for reasonable price."

She smiled. "That's good to hear. I miss you."

Puck poked his head into the shot. "Miss you too, Rach."

Sam pushed his head away. "Puck, get out of the shot and get dressed!"

Puck scurried out of sight laughing.

He turned back to the camera. "I miss you too, Rachel, it hurts. I can't wait until you come back for Thanksgiving."

She pouted. "It's only three months away, I'm sure you'll survive. You better finish getting ready."

He nodded. "All right, I'll text you later. Have a good day, sweetie."

She blew him a kiss. "You have a good first day, too. Love you!"

"Love you too, bye!"

There was a knock on the door, and Kurt poked his head in already dressed. "Woman, you better get out of that bed and get ready! I want to get there by at least 9:30 the latest so we can avoid big lines, you know!"

She swung her legs off the bed. "All right, all right. I'm up."

An hour later, they pulled into the NYADA parking lot and rushed inside with their appropriate papers. The whole building was crowded with people running left and right, but they were able to be somewhat in the middle of the line.

"I can't believe you're staying in a dorm." Kurt pouted. "Whose toenails am I going to paint in the middle of the night when I can't sleep?"

Rachel patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, it won't be long. It'll only be for a little while until we can find an apartment. And depending on our schedules, we can have early morning breakfast runs before class."

He shrugged. "We better!"

Finally, they got to the front of the line. Rachel handed the receptionist her papers.

"Rachel Berry." The young lady said, looking at her over her half-mooned spectacles. "Welcome to NYADA. Here is your schedule, and your room assignment. You'll be staying in the East Chester Hall, room 1302."

Rachel accepted her papers and smiled graciously. She stepped out of the line to wait for Kurt and examined her schedule.

_**Acting Techniques II**_

**MWF**

**9:00-10:50**

**Room A561**

**Mayberry, Jeff**

_**Dance 101**_

**MWF**

**11:00-12:15**

**Room D910**

**July, Cassandra**

_**Song Interpretation**_

**MWF**

**2:45-4:00**

**Room V611**

**Tibideaux, Carmen**

_**Dramatic Literature**_

**TR**

**10:30-11:50**

**Room L903**

**Dunham, Liam**

_**Intermediate Voice**_

**TR**

**V630**

**1:00-3:00**

**Blake, Sophie**

Kurt came up holding his folder. "Let me see your schedule." He examined it and smiled. "Hey, we have Acting Techniques and Dramatic Literature together! Hmm...your dance class and my improv class end at the same time so we could have our occasional lunch getaways."

Rachel grinned and jumped excitedly. "Yay!"

He picked up her suitcases. "All right, now where's your room? Let's get you all settled in."

As they walked down long hallways, squeezing past people walking in all directions, they chatted excitedly about how they hoped their first semester was going to be.

"I can't believe I get a class taught by Ms. Tibideaux, this is just too amazing." She sighed dreamily.

Kurt grinned. "You must have made quite an impression on her. I'm really glad for you."

Rachel took out her map and scanned it. "My, we're not even _close _to Chester Hall. This place is _huge_!"

He put on a sour face. "We'll get there. Are you trying to get rid of me already?"

She stopped in her tracks and put her arm around him. "Of course not, I wouldn't dare. I just can't wait to explore the campus."

He nodded. "I thought so. So I'll drop you off at your room so you can unpack, we can grab lunch and explore the campus, I'll drop you off again for a few hours so you can settle in, and then we can go about a night on the town. How does that sound?"

She squealed excitedly. "Sounds like a perfect plan. My, you seem to be ahead of the game."

He shrugged. "I do my best. This is just until we make some new friends, then we can work around it."

After a few more miles of walking, they _finally _got to her room.

Kurt looked over at her. "Ready to meet your roommate?"

She took a deep breath. "Yup, let's do this.

_**1 Week Later**_

Rachel stood in the hallway miserably leaning against the wall. She made it through her first week at NYADA and she hated it _already_: her roommate is always bringing back boys to their room to have sex with every night and barely acknowledges her, her dance teacher is super critical and already claimed to make Rachel's time in class a living hell...she just wanted to be either back home in Sam's comforting arms or at Kurt's Aunt's house having a nice hot cup of tea before bed.

She also had to schedule her nighttime bathroom routine to the late hours of the night in the co-ed bathrooms because honestly, how can you shower and moisturize when you know there is a couple probably making a baby right outside your bathroom?

All this misery made her miss Sam even more. Back in Lima whenever she was down, Sam always knew exactly what to do or say to cheer her up. Here in New York, all she had was Kurt during the day, and she hadn't even connected with anyone in her classes. She just wished she could hop on a plane and go back to Lima where she was home.

Choking down sobs, she pulled out her phone and called Sam, hopeful that his cheerful voice would ease her mind.

_Yo, it's Sam. You know what to do. Beep!_

"Sam," she croaked. "I don't know if you're out or asleep, but I _really _need to hear your voice. My first week at school has just been utterly terrible and I wish I could close my eyes and wake up in your bed wrapped in your warm arms. You always knew what to say when I was down and now I just have your voicemail to listen to. Everything sucks here! My roommate is a slut, my dance teacher is even worse that Coach Sylvester...I just wanna go home. Call me back, because I just _need _to hear you. Bye."

Gathering her pajamas, and bathroom bottles off the floor, she headed to the bathroom to shower.

While she was moisturizing, she suddenly heard a male singing voice. It was super weird because Rachel was always alone whenever she went at that hour, but the voice was coming from the shower. She slowly crept toward it to get a better listen.

Whoever was singing was singing _Sister Christian_, a song she knew well because Sam had sung it in the choir room once. He had a nice voice...different than Sam's, but it was nice.

Suddenly, the shower turned off, snapping her out of her reverie. Before she had a chance to run back to the sink, a guy stepped out of the shower. She squealed, dropped her lotion bottle and covered her eyes. She heard him gasp and, judging from the fact that his feet didn't move, they were standing there staring at each other. She felt her face turn red and hot because when they startled each other, she actually caught a glimpse of his _whole_ body. It was a sight that definitely wouldn't be erased from her mind. His body was kid of like Sam's, toned and built. The only difference between them was that Sam was pale and this guy was tan.

"I put a towel on." He said. "You can uncover your eyes now."

She slowly lowered her hands from her eyes, but was too embarrassed to look him in the eyes so she instead focused on his broad chest. "I-I," She stammered. "I'm ever so sorry. I didn't mean to spy on you or anything."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because honestly, I don't usually get jumped, surprised, or startled when I come out of the shower."

"I thought I was alone, that's all." She said. "I'm usually in here by myself when I'm doing my bathroom routine, and I didn't see you come in.

He glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. "At one in the morning? And you didn't hear me come in because I used the _other _entrance and the back showers."

She shrugged. "I can't shower in my dorm room. I have classes during the day, and my roommate is always in there having sex with all the boys, so I can't shower knowing they're doing that right outside the door."

He nodded understandingly. "Ah, I see. You can look up at me, you don't have to be afraid, you know. It was just an accident."

She looked up at him and noticed that he had clear blue eyes...kind of like Sam.

"So what's your name, shower girl? I'm assuming your a freshman because the other upperclassmen shower during the day." He spoke up.

She scoffed. "Shower girl's name is Rachel Berry. And yes, I'm a freshman."

He nodded and stuck out his hand. "Good to know, shower girl. I'm Brody Weston, junior. And for the record, I also use the co-ed bathroom at this late hour because I get off work so late."

She shook his hand. "What do you do for a job that makes you work so late?"

"Can't tell you." He replied. "You're a stranger." He walked around her to the sink at set his shower bag down. "So care to tell me why you accidentally stumbled upon me?"

She walked over to him and crossed her arms. "I heard you singing. You have a nice voice."

He smiled. "Thanks. You sing, too? I assume you're pretty good since you're here."

She shrugged. "Well I don't mean to _brag_, but I sing, I dance, and I act."

Brody squeezed some lotion onto his hands and rubbed it on his arms. "I see. How do you like NYADA so far?"

She sighed and leaned her elbows on the sink. "It's my first week and I'm already hating it. I can't wait to get out of here."

He started at her incredulously. "You're leaving New York so soon?"

Rachel took her hairbrush out of her bag and began brushing. "No, I'm moving out. My friend Kurt from high school also goes here with me and we're looking for an apartment. But I'll still be going here. It's the curriculum that stinks. My roommate is a...swinger, my dance teacher actually claimed to make my life a living hell..."

He whistled. "You have Miss July, I see. She always does that, she doesn't play favorites. Don't let her get to you. And that's good that you're staying at NYADA, I would have missed getting jumped in the shower."

She whacked him with her brush. "You better drop that shower girl business or I'll disappear from here forever."

Brody rubbed his hand where she whacked him. "Ouch! Beautiful, talented, and violent! Geeze, you're a knock-out. Fine, I'll drop the name." He picked up his clothes and started getting dressed. "Not going to hide your face this time?"

She rolled her eyes. "I've already seen all of you. It's not shameful anymore."

After her finished dressing, he put his hands on her shoulders. "Okay, I know that your first week may have been crappy, but that's because you're just not used to everything yet. You're used to your old high school life where everything was practically handed to you and everyone told you what you wanted to hear. Now you're in college...in New York of all places where _no one's _nice at all. You just need to learn the ropes, and then you'll be just fine. New York is all about _changes_, so why not start making new memories now?"

He gathered up his bag and previous clothes. "I hope to see you around campus soon, Rachel."

After he left, she instantly smiled.

Her phone rang in her pocket, and her smile grew bigger when she saw it was Sam calling.

"_Rachel, I got your message! Honey, are you okay?" _He asked in a panic.

"I'm fine now, Sam." She said reassuringly. "I was just having a mental breakdown, but then I took a shower and now I feel fine."

She heard him sigh in relief. _"That's good, you had me worried. I'm sorry you had a shitty first week. I wish you were home with me too." _He noticed the short silence on her end. _"Do you want me to go there? Because I don't mind skipping school and hopping on a plane to make you feel better."_

She giggled. "Don't be silly, Sammy. I wouldn't want you to miss school. And, it's only the first week. Have the rest of the semester to make it better, I just have to get used to it all."

"_That's my girl. But just so you know, you can't win over everybody. There will be people rotting for you to fail, that's what makes you stronger."_

She sighed and leaned against the wall, her heart beating rapidly. "You always know what to say. That's why I love you."

"_And I love you because you're headstrong. You're gonna get through this, everything's gonna be okay. And you're not alone, you have Kurt there with you. And it won't be long until you're back for Thanksgiving."_

"I know, I can't wait to see you!" She exclaimed excitedly. "I miss you so much, it hurts."

"_You're gonna be all right, baby. And I can't wait until you're home so I can hold you in my arms again."_

Rachel felt her lip quivering and her throat stiffening. "Me too. I love you, Sam. We'd better get to bed, we have school."

"_I know, I know. Are you okay now?"_

"I'm fine, now that I talked to you."

"_I'm glad. Have a good night, Rach. I love you, baby."_

"I love you too. Sweet dreams."

She hung up, closed her eyes and sighed. She was always glad to talk to Sam, whether it was on Skype, Face-Time, or just a simple call. She gathered up her things and headed back to her dorm.

However, as she was leaving the bathroom, for a split second...she also couldn't wait to see Brody again.

_**The Next Day**_

"All right, you dummies." Miss July announced to the class. "We have ourselves a new Teacher's Assistant, but don't go sucking up to him. He's a wonderful dancer with hot abs. So please, treat him with the uttermost respect and inner hatred you all harbor for me."

The door opened and Rachel gasped when Brody walked in. He gave everyone a polite wave and clapped his hands together. "All right, everyone partner up. Today, we're doing the tango. Remember, it's a dance about seduction, jealousy, tension, sensuality...so let's see some sexy here."

He gestured for Rachel to come over to him, but Miss July stopped her. "Not so fast, Schwimmer, you maybe dancing with my new T.A., but you better show me some sex appeal or you'll spend the rest of the semester in the back corner doing jazz-hands."

Brody approached Rachel, and held her into position. "No need to worry, I'll have her showing sex appeal in no time."

Miss July gave her a scornful look and strode away.

Rachel sighed as they began dancing. "Thanks so much. What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "I applied as a T.A. So I can keep an eye on you and save you. I'm also quite a good dancer, if I never mentioned it." He glanced at Miss July real quick. "You better show Miss July _something_ if you want to avoid doing jazz-hands."

Her eyes widened. "Um...I'm not sure I can."

He leaned down to her and whispered. "Don't worry, I'll help you."

She smiled and followed his lead for the rest of the lesson.

**And that's the end of the first chapter. Remember, this is just a starting point. Next chapter, we'll switch over to McKinley and focus on Sam's interaction with Penny...ew. Enjoy!**


	2. Waiting For a Girl Like You

**Welcome, all to chapter 2! This chapter, we'll be focusing on Sam's interaction with Penny...I shudder typing this. Enjoy!**

Sam headed to the nurse's office to fetch band-aids for his teacher, Mrs. Blart.

He knocked on the door, and a sweet girlish voice answered. "Come on in, whoever you are!"

He pushed open the door and was greeted by a teenage girl wearing a bright pink dress shuffling through a box of syringes. She looked up when he closed the door and almost dropped the box. "Oh my...hello."

He waved politely. "Hi, I need some more band-aids for Mrs. Blart's class.

The girl kept staring at him, blinking. Hew jaw dropped a bit, and it started to make him uncomfortable.

He rubbed his neck. "Uh, we're out of band-aids. Can I get some more?"

His voice seemed to snap out of her reverie. "Uh, oh...yeah." She opened a drawer of the desk and handed him a box. "I'm sorry for staring."

He took the box and looked around. "Where's Nurse Gail? Who are you?"

She smiled again and stuck out her hand. "I'm Penny Owen, sophomore at James A Rhodes State College. I'm in the nursing program, and this is my volunteer portion of the program. I'm just helping out Nurse Gail, she's grabbing some lunch right now."

He nodded. "Right. Well...I'm Sam Evans, nice to meet you."

She giggled and flipped her hair. "I'm so sorry for staring earlier, you're just _amazingly _cute."

He grinned. "Well thank you, I appreciate it."

She crossed her arms and leaned against the desk. "You're gonna be seeing me around here a lot, Sam. I'm also gonna be coming to classes doing CPR demonstrations."

He shrugged and started playing with the plastic skull on the desk. "Oh, that's great. I already know CPR, but another class won't hurt."

Penny nodded and bit her lip, realizing that she wasn't getting anywhere. She tapped her fingers on the desk. "Okay, well if that's all..."

Sam turned to her and waved again waved again. "Thanks for the band-aids. I guess I'll see you around, Penny."

She smiled. "You too, Sam. Have a good day. I hope your teacher enjoys the band-aids."

_**Later **_

Sam walked into history class and saw a nervous looking Artie sitting at his desk. "Artie, what's wrong?"

"Flu-shots today!" Artie said anxiously. "I hate needles!"

Before he could say anything, his teacher, Mr. Rubens walked in holding a list. "Sam, to the nurse's office with you."

Before he left, Mr. Rubens handed him a lollipop. "Just in case."

When he got to the nurse's office, he saw Penny washing her hands at the sink. "Hi again, Penny."

She turned around and gave him a sly smile. "Hello again, Sam Evans. We meet again."

Sam hopped onto the bed and rolled up his sleeve. "Let's get this over with."

She fixed up her syringe and walked over to him. "Oh, not so fast, Sam. We have a few mandatory procedures I have to go through before I inject you." She leaned down, grabbed his chin and turned his head left and right. "First I have to make sure there's no discoloration in your face." As she was looking, she stared at his big, juicy lips. "My, you have big lips!" She then looked in his eyes and admired how blue they are. "Just checking to see if your eyes are dilated. If they are, I'll have to treat you for that, too." Lastly, she put her hand on his forehead. "Good, no fever."

While she was doing all that, Sam suddenly started feeling hot. He missed Rachel's touches. He remembered when he had a fever once, she brought him over to his house and checked him up and down, left and right, and nursed him back to health. He felt so safe and secure then. Now she was thousands of miles away, and a slightly attractive nurse had taken her place. God, he missed her! He tried to picture Rachel was once again with him, doing all those things. She looked _really _sexy in a nurse's uniform.

He suddenly felt a bulge in his pants, so he quickly shifted. He then felt his face get hot and he started to sweat a bit.

Penny looked up at him. "Sam, what's wrong? You're suddenly starting to sweat, and you're turning red!"

He cleared his throat. "I...um...I'm just nervous. I don't like needles."

She laughed. "No one does. But it'll be over before you know it."

He swallowed. "Right. Well...can I get a drink of water before we do this?"

She looked at her watch and shook her head. "No time, I'm on a schedule here. I promise, it'll be over before you know it. Just...close your eyes and think of something nice, and it'll be all over."

Instead of thinking of something nice, he tried to picture something weird. _Coach Beiste as blue as an avatar wearing a bikini! Coach Beiste as blue as an avatar wearing a bikini! _The thought of it just made him burst out laughing.

Penny raised her eyebrow. "Good grief, Sam, you're a bit _too _distracted, but it's over now."

He shook his head. "Did you do it yet?"

She stared at him. "Yeah, right before you started laughing. What were you thinking about?"

He blinked and coughed. "Uh...nothing. So can I go now?"

She nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you around, I guess."

He hopped off the bed and rushed out, desperate to get to a bathroom. He was gonna need a cold shower later.

_**The Next Day**_

As Sam made his way to the cafeteria, he bumped into Penny who was leaving the nurse's office. "Hey, Penny."

She turned to him and grinned. "Well hey again, Sam! Off to lunch?"

He nodded. "Yup. You too?"

"I am." She replied. "I wish I wasn't eating alone, though. I'm not allowed to eat in the Teacher's Lounge because I'm not a teacher so I ate in the office by myself yesterday."

He pointed down the hall with his thumb. "You can join me and my friends in the cafeteria. We're having tacos today."

Penny threw her head back and laughed. "Sam, I'm a college student. I think I'm allergic to cafeteria food. I was going to Panera's, would you like to join me?"

He shrugged. "Won't I get in trouble for leaving campus?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not if you're with me. I promise, we'll be quick and I'll have you back way before lunch ends. It's only five minutes from here."

After a few seconds of contemplating, he nodded. "All right, I'll go. And I'll eat in here with you so you're not alone and my friends don't get jealous of my awesome lunch."

She clapped her hands. "Great, let's go!"

Half an hour later, they were back in the nurse's office eating their lunches. Sam had a bacon turkey bravo sandwich, and Penny had a chicken salad sandwich.

"So what do you do here? Are you part of any extra-curricular activities?" She asked.

He nodded. "I'm on the football team and part of the Glee Club."

She grinned. "Cool! I wish I could sing...but I can't, so I'm a nurse's assistant. Can you sing something for me?"

He shook his head. "I can't sing while I'm eating. Not good for the throat. I do impressions though, and I can speak Na'vi."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh my goodness, I **LOVE**_ Avatar! _Can you do some impressions then?"

He spent the next two minutes doing impressions of Nicholas Cage. Sean O'Connery, Matthew McConaughey, and James Earl Jones to which she laughed at jubilantly.

"Sam, those are _so _good, you should be a stand-up comedian or something like on SNL. Now come on, can you sing just a _little _bit?"

He shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich. "I don't have my guitar with me. It's sitting in the choir room."

"You can use mine!" She exclaimed. Setting down her sandwich, she went behind the desk and pulled out a pink guitar case. "I've been playing since I was nine, it's one of my hobbies. I usually play it during my spare time, even here. Taylor sure has gotten me through a lot." She handed him the guitar. "So what kind of music do you like?"

He took the guitar and examined it. "Mostly rock. I once created a one-man cover band called the Justin Bieber Experience to win back my ex-girlfriend, but that didn't work much. And I've kind of lost respect for him in the recent events."

She pouted. "What a shame, I would have loved to hear you sing some classic Bieber. Oh well, sing something rock then."

"Okay, then. Let me see." He thought for a second, and then decided to play the song that he played for Rachel on their fifth date.

_So long__  
><em>_I've been looking too hard, I've waiting too long__  
><em>_Sometimes I don't know what I will find__  
><em>_I only know it's a matter of time__  
><em>_When you love someone__  
><em>_When you love someone___

_It feels so right, so warm and true__  
><em>_I need to know if you feel it too___

_Maybe I'm wrong__  
><em>_Won't you tell me if I'm coming on too strong?__  
><em>_This heart of mine has been hurt before__  
><em>_This time I wanna be sure_

Penny's eyes widened and she sighed dreamily.

_I've been waiting for a girl like you__  
><em>_To come into my life__  
><em>_I've been waiting for a girl like you__  
><em>_A love that will survive__  
><em>_I've been waiting for someone new__  
><em>_To make me feel alive__  
><em>_Yeah, waiting for a girl like you__  
><em>_To come into my life_

She clapped excitedly and took another bite of her sandwich. "That was amazing, Sam! You really _do _have a nice voice."

He grinned. "Thanks, my girlfriend loves that song."

Penny choked on her sandwich. "_GIRLFRIEND!?"_

He nodded and stroked the strings of the guitar. "Yeah, her name's Rachel. She graduated last semester and she's at a performing arts college in New York."

She patted her back and took a sip of her coke. "And...you guys are still dating even though she's thousands of miles away? You're still going strong?"

"Yup." He replied simply. "I miss her like _crazy _though. Here," He pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of them at the park. "this is a picture of us before she left. She'll be back in November for Thanksgiving, though. I really can't wait to see her."

While he admired the picture on his phone, he didn't notice Penny pouting in her seat.

She tapped her foot impatiently. "The bell's gonna ring in a few minutes. You better get to class."

He looked up at the clock and jumped up. "You're right. Thanks for taking me out to lunch, Penny. See you around!"

She gave him a small wave and sat back in her seat scowling.

When he got home from school, he decided to lie down for a nap. He was woken up by Puck shaking him a few hours later. "Hi there, Puck."

Puck smiled. "Good evening, sleepy head. I brought home some pizza for dinner, are you hungry?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I am."

As Puck was leaving the room, a cell phone at Sam. "You got a missed call from Rachel. She called a few hours ago."

Sam's eyes widened and he grabbed his phone and pressed Face-Time. He hoped she wasn't busy.

Finally, she answered, but he could barely see her. She seemed to be in a dimly-lit place and it was very noisy.

However, he could still he a flash of that amazing smile he loved. "Hey, babe."

She waved excitedly. _"Hi, Sammy! How are you?"_

He squinted. "I'm good, but I can barely see you."

She nodded. _"Yeah, Kurt and I are out to dinner. You're lucky we picked a restaurant that has WI-FI. Hold on, I'll step outside." _She stood up and turned to Kurt. _"Text me when the food gets here._"

He heard Kurt's whines voice off-screen. _"You're just gonna leave me here __**alone**__? If I get mugged or something, I'm holding you personally responsible."_

She rolled her eyes. _"Kurt, __**please**__? I won't be long, I promise. Just don't look too obvious."_

After a few minutes of the camera being wobbly, she was finally outside. _"Ooh, it's chilly out here. So how was your day?"_

He shrugged. "Fine, I guess. I got my flu-shot yesterday."

She winced. _"Ouch, I hate needles. Did it go okay?"_

He nodded. "Yeah, I just thought of something funny and it was over before I knew it."

She giggled. _"I'd sure distract myself too if Nurse Gail was giving me a shot."_

His stomach tightened for a second, but he decided not to tell her that Penny, the pretty nurse's assistant was the one that gave him the shot. "I miss you...so much."

She sighed. _"I miss you so much, too. I definitely can't wait until November when I come back. How are Grease rehearsals?"_

"Going great, we're all doing a real good job. Artie's still a little upset because Blaine didn't want to play Danny Zucko because he was still depressed."

Rachel bit her lip. _"I wish I could say the same about Kurt. He only cried for two days and then he got over it pretty fast."_

Sam scratched his neck. "Yeah, well temptation's a bitch. What day are you coming back?"

She gave him a sneaky smile. _"Now __**that **__I can't tell you. It'll be a surprise."_

He chuckled. "Well I'd better get planning on what we're gonna do."

She thought for a second. _"Do these plans involve...a bed?"_

He nodded. "Whatever you want, babe."

Puck's voice floated into the room from the kitchen. "Sam, you better get some pizza or I'll eat it all!"

Rachel checked her phone. _"I have to go, too. Kurt just texted that our food's here."_

He sighed. "Okay, I'll talk to you later. I love you."

She blew him a kiss. _"Love you too. Enjoy your pizza!"_

He waved and hung up the phone. Holding it to his chest, he sighed and gazed up at the ceiling until Puck called him again.

"SAM!"


	3. Shock Treatment

**Hm, no reviews yet? Oh well, someone's bound to review sooner or later. I've been through this before, I just have to be patient.**

**Welcome to chapter 3, everyone!**

"There!" Rachel exclaimed as she placed an artificial basket of flowers on a shelf. "We're _officially _decorated and moved in."

It was true: a few weeks earlier, she and Kurt went apartment hunting and found one in Bushwick, only about twenty minutes from NYADA. The rent was $1800 a month, which her parents and Kurt's parents chipped in to help pay for. The first two nights were spent cleaning up and painting, and the rest of the week was dedicated to shopping for decorations. After both their parents shipped their important things like a couch, a bed, kitchen supplies, all that was left was to decorate which took another week. There was only one bathroom, which was perfectly fine with them. The apartment had three bedrooms, but no doors or walls to separate them from the rest of the rooms, so they bought curtains to enforce privacy.

She took a step back and admired everything. "Kurt, come and look. We are officially moved into our first apartment!"

Kurt came out of his room all dressed up in a fancy vest and tie. "I know, I can't believe it either."

She stared at him in shock. "You're going out? On our first _official _night as apartment renters?"

He rolled his eyes. "Rachel, you _know _I have my interview for an internship at Vogue. I'll make it up to you tomorrow night because I don't know how long I'll be."

She pouted and crossed her arms. "Kurt Hummel, I honestly cannot believe you are leaving me here by myself on the first night in our apartment! What if we get robbed or something?"

He sighed. "I have extra mace under my bed, you'll be fine. Rachel, we're in _Bushwick._ Just call me if we have another 1977 blackout. Why don't you invite your friend Brody over if you're scared to be alone?"

She walked over to him and fixed his tie. "I think I will. Can't you stay until he gets here so you can meet him?"

He looked at his watch and shook his head. "No time, my interview is at eight and I have to make the seven-fifteen train. I trust you, though, not to get involved with any funny business."

She giggled. "Oh, Kurt, I would _never _anything to jeopardize my relationship with Sam."

He wagged his finger at her. "Don't be so sure, temptation _is _a thing, you know."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Go do your interview, Kurt."

He smiled. "Okay, fine. Give me a kiss for luck." She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks, doll, I'll see you later. I'm gonna lock the door on my way out."

She gave him a small wave. "Break a leg on your interview!"

After he left, she decided to explore her newly-furnished apartment, letting it all sink in. She flopped onto the couch and decided to call Sam.

_Yo, it's Sam. You know what to do. Beep!_

"Hi, Sam, it's me. Kurt and I are _officially_ moved into our apartment. As in all decorated, all painted, all furnished. Kurt left me by myself tonight, though because he has an interview tonight. I'm bored. Call me back, I wanna hear from you. Love you! Bye!"

When she hung up, she sulked around for a while, then decided to call Brody.

"_Brody Weston, talk to me."_

She smirked. "So professional of you, Mister Weston."

"_Rachel? Hey, what's up? Sorry, my job requires me to have my phone on me 24/7."_

"Oh really? Will you tell me _now _what you do?"

"_I just do odd-jobs around town. I make pretty good money and it helps pay for my semesters."_

She nodded. "That's good. So what are you doing tonight? Are you working?"

"_Nope, I'm off tonight. What are you up to?"_

She puffed up her chest proudly. "Well I can proudly say that Kurt and I are _officially _moved into our apartment. As in fully furnished, painted decorated, etc. I was wondering if you wanted to come over."

"_Don't you wanna spend your first night with Kurt?"_

She sighed. "Yeah, but Kurt had to run off for a job interview so I'm by myself tonight. So I called you to see if you wanted to hang out."

"_Sure, sounds great! I can even bring over some pizzas and some movies if that's okay."_

She grinned. "Yeah, that sounds great. But vegetarian pizza, please."

He chuckled. "_I know, I know. Where do you live so I know what train to take."_

"Our apartment's in Bushwick. Is that too far for you?"

"_Nope, I'm actually stepping out of NYADA now so it's about twenty minutes. I'll be there with the pizzas and the movies."_

"Sounds great. I'll see you then."

When she hung up, she ran to the bathroom and began putting on makeup. Then she ran to her room to pick out an outfit, but suddenly stopped. Why was she getting all prettied up for Brody? He was _just _a friend.

_Just _a friend with toned abs and beautiful blue eyes...

_Stop it, Rachel_! She scolded herself. _Think about Sam._

As if on cue, her phone buzzed in her pocket with a text from him.

_Guyz nite at me and Puck's place. Still want me to call you?_

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. _No, I'm fine. Have fun at your guys night, I'll text you later._

A second later, her phone beeped again. _Laters, baby._

Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the at the door. "Pizza delivery!"

She opened it at Brody was in the doorway holding a bouquet of roses, a champagne bottle, and two pizza boxes. "Hey there."

She giggled. "Hello yourself, stranger. Come on in!"

He stepped inside and handed her the flowers. "For your new apartment."

She pressed the flowers to her nose and inhaled the scent. "These are lovely, thank you so much."

Brody set the pizza boxes and the bottle on the table. "I got your dinner: one vegetarian pizza for you, one Hawaiian pizza for me, and a bottle of sparkling cider since you're nineteen."

She grinned. "Why thank you. What movies did you bring?"

He reached into his jacket and pulled out two DVDs. "I brought _The Rocky Horror Picture Show _and it's proceeding spin-off, _Shock Treatment_."

She tilted her head in confusion. "I haven't seen _Shock Treatment_."

He held it up to her. "It's a spin-off, but has absolutely _nothing _to do with the original plot. Brad and Janet are in it, but their plot line surrounds a completely different story. Some of the original cast members play different characters. You're gonna have to see it to..._try _to understand it."

She popped _The Rocky Horror Picture Show _into the DVD player. "I was actually in a production of the Rocky Horror Show. I played Janet."

He whistled. "I wouldn't have expected anything less." He picked up the pizza boxes and headed to the couch. "Ready to watch?"

She grabbed plates and glasses and sat next to him on the couch. "I'm ready."

He poured the cider in both glasses and raised them up. "To your next big step in becoming a New Yorker."

She clinked her glass against his and took a swig. "Cheers."

As the movie progressed, they talked, they laughed, they sang...they even danced to the _Time Warp_. Even the _Toucha-Toucha-Toucha Touch Me _wasn't awkward at all because it reminded her of the slight-awkwardness she felt performing it with Sam and Mr. Schuester.

When the movie ended, she yawned.

"Are you too tired to watch the next movie? Should we call it a night?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just a bit exhausted from all the decorating Kurt and I have been doing this past week."

He nodded understandingly. "I understand completely." He patted his lap. "Here, lay your head in my lap. I'll wake you up if you fall asleep."

She laid her head down as he started the movie. It seemed quite interesting at first. Completely different plot-line, new characters played by original actors, _definitely _original songs...but the rest was kind of dull. What was the plot line even _about, _anyway?

She then noticed that Brody started to softly stroke her hair, but his eyes were still fixed on the screen. He also started singing softly, and it made her relax. She soon started drifting off to sleep and visualized him doing pirouettes in a really tight leotard.

Suddenly, she was shaken awake. "Rachel, wake up."

She blinked and sat up. Instantly, she felt a bit of dampness out of the corner of her mouth, so she quickly wiped it. "Did I fall asleep?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, you did. I didn't notice until I felt something wet on my pants that realized you were drooling."

She flushed. "I'm so sorry, did I drool a lot? I'll go dry your pants."

He patted her shoulder. "It's fine, only a tiny bit. Maybe we should just call it a night and finish the movie another time. Maybe during the day."

She nodded and stood up, gathering the plates and glasses. "What time is it?"

He looked at his watch. "About ten-thirty."

She stretched and hurried to the sink, desperate to get some space from him.

Brody cautiously approached her. "Are you all right, Rachel?"

She nodded and frantically began washing the dishes. "Uh-huh. Yup, mhmm, yes, I'm perfectly fine."

He stared at her oddly, and then began to sing while slowly easing up to her.

_I feel the heat from your skin  
>And the stubble on your chin<br>You're no good_

_You're no good _

She giggled, but continued to wash the dishes without looking at him.

_You've got dirt on your hands  
>And everybody understands<br>You're no good  
>You're no good<em>

He turned away from her, sighing heavily.

_Oh, what a joke _

_What a joke_

_You feel like choking_

_You play for broke_

_You play for broke_

_He'll leave you smoking_

He turned back to her and eased up against her gently. She could feel the tickle of his hot breath against her skin and it made her feel hot and achy.

_Oh, romance is not a children's game _

_But you keep going back__  
><em>_It's driving you insane_

She turned her head to him and realized that their faces were mere inches from each other. Their noses were barely touching, and their lips were _dangerously _close. She saw him moving in closer, but suddenly felt as if she touched a hot stove and sprung back. "No!"

He gasped in surprise. "Rachel, what's wrong?"

She held her head in her hands. "I can't do this, I just can't! Brody...you're _very _attractive, and I really hope I didn't lead you on, but I have a boyfriend back home. His name is Sam, and I love him _ever _so much. I would _never _be unfaithful to him, I'm sorry."

He gaped at her for a few seconds. "No, _I _should be sorry. I over-stepped my boundaries, I'm sorry about that." He blinked. "But you _do _know things like that are bound to happen, right?"

She suddenly remembered both what Kurt and Sam said about temptation.

_Don't be so sure, temptation **is **a thing, you know._

_Yeah, well temptation's a bitch._

She looked down shamefully. "I know." She said softly.

He leaned on the counter and crossed his arms. "That's why it's not advised to be in a long-distance relationship, _especially _when college is the situation. I had a girlfriend back home when I came here, but we broke up six months after I started. That's the way life is. Screws fall out all the time, the world's an imperfect place. It's bound to happen _sometime_, and you just can't control it." When he noticed her not looking up at him, he put his hand on her shoulder. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll respect your boundaries. We can start out as friends if you'd like."

She smiled. "Thank you, Brody. I appreciate it."

He picked up the pizza boxes and headed to the door. "I had fun tonight, we should hang out again soon."

She nodded and followed him out. "Yeah, we should. Thanks again for stopping by."

Before he left, he took one look at her. "Look at you, all ready set on your transformation. Work it, Rachel, I'll see you at school."

She gave him a small wave. "See ya, Brody."

After he left, she felt a sense of uneasiness. She almost _kissed _Brody. If she did, she would have already automatically cheated on Sam. But why did she always feel so comfortable with Brody? She felt the same warm comfortness she felt whenever Sam was around, and frankly it made her head spin. Although she didn't want to cheat on Sam, she _really _wanted to know how it would have felt if she actually kissed Brody.

She shook her head trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She would deal with those feelings later. She had more important things to focus on.

_Transformation..._

She headed to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She still looked like her old high school self. Same plain-Jane Rachel. She then walked over to her closet and examined her clothes, remembering the exact moments she wore them in high school. The Peter-Pan collared blouses, she plaid skirts, the animal sweaters...yeesh, what made her think dressing like a Catholic schoolgirl was okay? She was an adult in college now, it was time to simplify and tone it down a notch. Okay, maybe not _too_ much. She could still look elegant and mature. Now about her makeup and hair...

Just then, the door opened again and Kurt's voice rang through the apartment. "Rachel, I'm home! Were you okay?"

She stepped out of her room. "Yes, I was fine. How did your interview go?"

He undid his tie. "I hope it went well. My interviewer who looks _exactly _like Sarah-Jessica Parker was impressed with my portfolio and she said I'll be hearing back from her by the end of the weekend." He noticed that she had a vague stare on her face. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Kurt...we're adults in college in New York now. I think I need a makeover."

His eyes suddenly lit up and his mouth turned up to a wide grin. "I was _hoping _for the day you'd say that! Get your hairdryer, hairbrushes, all your makeup, and your emergency credit card. Tonight, we'll work on your face and hair, and tomorrow we're going on a shopping spree. Girlfriend, you have just _made _my night!"

She smiled and hugged her to him, wondering what Sam would think about her new look.

**And that's the end of chapter three.**

**See if you can spot the two references I made within the chapter. One is a reference to a somewhat popular book and the other is a quote from a popular 80s movie. Enjoy!**

**And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!**


	4. Reunited, and It Feels So Good

**Thank you so, so much for my first two reviews for this story! You people are amazing, and I love you for it.**

**Here is chapter four. We will see our very first Samchel face-to-face interaction. Enjoy!**

**Oh by the way, I'm going with the actual musical version of Grease instead of the film version.**

**Yup, this chapter's gonna be a long one. I think it's the longest chapter out of all my stories. **

Rachel and Kurt gazed excitedly as their plane landed back in Lima. They _so _couldn't wait to see their families again after three months, and would be spending Thanksgiving with each other. Thanksgiving would be held at the Berry house, with the Hummel-Hudson and Evans family.

Rachel was _more _excited to see Sam though. She didn't tell him what day she was flying in because she was hoping to surprise him and watch his performance in _Grease _which was the day before Thanksgiving. In fact, _no one _knew they were flying in at all.

The plane came to a complete stop, and they grabbed their luggage from the overhead compartment.

"Good thing we didn't have to check anything in since we're only here until Sunday." Kurt claimed.

Rachel nodded. "Very true about that."

"Are your Dads picking us up?" He asked.

"Yup." she replied. "Do you want to go home or do you want to stop by my house real quick to relax?"

He shrugged. "I think I'll go home. I practically _live_ with you and we're still gonna be hanging out anyway."

"Okay then, tell Finn I said hi."

He laughed. "Say hi to him yourself, you're gonna be seeing him when you stop by _Grease _rehearsals anyway, remember? He's directing it with Artie, and taking over the Glee Club while Mr. Schuester's in Washington D.C.?"

She gasped. "Oh, really? Huh, well, good for him, I suppose. You're coming with me to rehearsals, right?"

He paused before answering. "I'm not sure."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't have to acknowledge him if you don't want to, Kurt. At least say hi to everyone else like Artie, Tina, Brittany...Mike and Mercedes are gonna be there too to help out. And as our duty as former Glee Club legends, we simply _must _meet the newbies."

He sighed. "Fine, but I'm _not_ talking to Blaine Anderson."

She grabbed his hand and shook it violently. Gosh, this boy was stubborn! "You don't have to. Now hurry up, we're holding up the line." She remarked.

When they got off the plane and got through the gate, she scanned the crowd for her Dads. It wasn't hard to find them...one Dad (Leroy) was more fit, and the other one (Hiram) was more lean and gentle. And the fact that they were holding a sign that said **RACHEL BERRY AND KURT HUMMEL**.

"Dad, Daddy!" She called out.

They turned to her, instantly smiled, tossed away the sign and went running toward them. She also started running, dragging her roll-on luggage behind her. When they met in the middle, she threw her arms around both of them, hugging them tightly while they picked her up and spun her around.

"We missed you, baby girl!" Leroy exclaimed.

She squeezed him tighter. "I missed you too, Dad."

Hiram held her out at arms-length and stared at her. "Leroy, look at her. Do you notice something different about our daughter?"

Leroy looked at her up and down. "Hmm...new makeup, new outfit style, new hair style...why, it's an all new Rachel! I love your new look, honey."

Hiram stroked her hair. "You've really gone through quite a transformation these past few months, cupcake. I can see a whole new mature, you. I love it too, sweetie."

She shrugged. "Well, it's New York. _Everyone _goes through a change there. You can thank Kurt, he gave me the makeover."

Leroy gasped and saw Kurt still striding toward them with his suitcase. "Oh my word, we left Kurt out of the picture."

All three of them approached him and gave him a hug. "So sorry for leaving you out, Kurt. We were just so caught up in the moment."

Hiram smiled at him. "Did you have a good flight, Kurt? It's so nice to see you."

Kurt bobbed his head politely. "Nice to see you too, sirs. Our flight was quite nice."

"Is you family still joining us for Thanksgiving?" Leroy asked.

Kurt grinned. "I anticipate it."

That answer made Leroy smile. "Great! Your Mom makes the _best _potato salad, and your Dad makes delicious cranberry stuffing."

"And _we're _in charge of making two turkeys." Hiram added. "One tofurkey for us and a regular turkey for everyone else."

Rachel heard her stomach growl and she patted her stomach. "Speaking of Thanksgiving food, can we go get something to eat? I only had a muffin and a smoothie from Starbucks before our flight and I'm _starving_."

They headed to Leroy's truck and took off to Panera.

Rachel leaned over and wrapped her arms around Hiram's neck. "I really missed the both of you."

He smiled. "We missed you too, cupcake. Sam's also been missing you, he stops by every now and then to see us."

"Does he know you're in, pumpkin?" Leroy asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, I never told him what day I was flying in. I wanted to surprise him at rehearsals. I decided to fly in early so I could make his show."

Kurt laughed. "He'll be sure surprised to see you."

Hiram turned to him. "Kurt, after lunch, would you like to come to our house or would you like us to drop you off at yours?"

"Mine, please." He replied. "I really think they miss me."

After they ate their lunch and dropped off Kurt, they drove back to the Berry household.

Rachel grabbed her suitcase and slowly stepped inside. "Oh, how I miss home. I actually wanted to come home after my first week."

Hiram sat in his favorite armchair and picked up the newspaper. "Why, honey?"

She leaned against the wall and sighed. "Well before Kurt and I moved into our apartment, everything was hell. My roommate liked to bring boys back to our room to have heavy make-outs with, _which _I was absent to and my dance teacher is harsh and _very _critical. But I had to find my way not to let them get to me."

Leroy grinned and pat her head. "That's our girl. So do you have any plans today?"

She shrugged. "Well today, I was hoping to spend tonight with you two and relax. Later, Kurt and I were gonna stop by McKinley to surprise everyone, meet the new Glee kids, and watch their final dress rehearsal. Tomorrow night, go watch the performance and spend the night at Sam and Puck's apartment. Thursday, be back here early to help set up for dinner, go with Sam to pick up his parents from the train station, be back here to help cook dinner and set up, and then it's dinner time. After that, I'm not sure."

"Seems you have everything planned out well." Hiram remarked from behind the newspaper.

Leroy chuckled. "You go on ahead up and take a nap if you want. We'll wake you up when Kurt gets here."

She grabbed her suitcase, she headed upstairs and flopped on her bed. Oh, how she missed clean fluffy sheets! She looked at her room and smiled at how much she had gone through to make it like that: the pale creamy walls, the stained glass lamp, the ivory vanity. The whole thought of it made her head spin and she quickly fell asleep.

_**DREAM SEQUENCE**_

_She dreamed that she was watching Sam's performance. Her seat was right smack in the middle row in the middle seat, but she still got a good view. The performance was phenomenal and outstanding, and_ _she couldn't wait to rush to him backstage to congratulate him._

_After the final song, everyone took their bows. When Sam came up, she was immediately on her feet, cheering the loudest._

_After the entire cast took their bows, Sam stepped forward. "I'd like to take a minute to thank my girl, who's out in the audience. I couldn't have done without her. Stand up, babe!"He pointed out in the audience._

_Rachel stood up again, but to her surprise, Sam didn't point to her, nor did anyone clap and cheer for her. He pointed to the front row, and someone stood up. Rachel couldn't see who this person was, she was more like a dark silhouetted figure. The person made her way onto the stage and waved like a pageant queen, the crowd around her going wild as ever. To Rachel's horror, Sam turned to the figure and kissed her affectionately, the same way he used to do with her. All Rachel could do was scream and wail loudly, but her scream was drowned out by the audience's cheers._

_**END OF DREAM**_

Rachel forced herself to wake up, shooting up in her bed and feeling a cold sweat run down her body. She put her hand to her forehead and felt warm.

What the heck was _that _about? Sam wasn't cheating on her...was he? He just talked to her last night saying how much he missed her and couldn't wait to see her. But who was the girl in the dream? She sighed, deciding that since she was back, she would treat him with _extra_ affection. She was hoping to anyway since she missed him so much. Every time she thought about him, it hurt. Staring at herself in the mirror, she hoped he would like her new look. Hopefully it made her more desirable to him than ever before.

"Rachel, honey!" Hiram called from downstairs. "Kurt's here!"

"Send him up!" She called back down.

A few seconds later, Kurt was at her door. "Hey there! Ready to see the love of your life again?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but can you help me get ready?"

He smiled and unzipped her suitcase. "Sure thing. What do you want to wear?"

She sat down on the floor with him. "Well, I _do _want to surprise Sam with my new look, but there's just so many outfits to choose from and I want to wear them all while I'm here. What I _don't _want to do is to waste a super-fabulous outfit for a few hours of just seeing him and then going home."

He nodded and started pulling out random pieces of clothing. "Honey, _all _your outfit pieces are fabulous. But I see what you mean, so we'll go with simple, but new. Save something ultra-fabulous for tomorrow night, Thanksgiving, any date nights, and your last night of seeing him. Let's see..."

He started rearranging articles of clothing to make makeshift outfits, but none of them seem to do. "Darling, all these make you seem confident but blend in in New York, but they make you look older and a bit _too _desirable here in Ohio. You'll be having an entourage of boys following you before you get to Sam. I should have thought about buying something even _more _simple. Let's try again."

After a few more minutes, he placed his outfit choices in the following categories: Casual wear, date night, special occasions. Finally, he paired her with a striped Milly Felicity Sweater, a black Juicy Couture skirt, yellow argyle socks, and black shiny Prada pumps **(a/n It's the outfit she wore when she took the selfie with Brody in the park)**

He spun her around and nodded approvingly. "There we go. Your outfit definitely says _coffee break_. It's elegant, mature, yet simple and a dash of Rachel Berry. _Very _casual. Now let's re-curl your hair, fix that smokey-eye eyeshadow, and then we're ready to go."

On the way out the door, she called to her Dads "Bye, Daddies! See you later!"

"Have fun, sweetie." Leroy said.

""If you bump into Sam, feel free to invite him over for dinner. We'll be making plenty of food."

"Did you text Finn and Artie that we were stopping by?" She asked Kurt as they got into his truck.

"Yup, they said to sneak in during _Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee _so we won't distract everyone."

She paused. "You _do _know that's right before _Beauty School Dropout, _right?"

He rolled his eyes. "I can handle it, don't worry."

When they got to school, they entered through the office to the doors of the auditorium. They could still hear the loud music and joyful noises coming from within, so they pressed their ears to the door to listen.

"What song are they on now?" She asked.

He pressed his ear even closer. "It's the burger joint scene. When the music starts for _Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee_, we'll head in."

The music started up, and the quickly but quietly darted in. The entire auditorium was dark except for the lighting on stage. Even though it was dark, they crouched down and hid in the very last row.

"What do we do now?" He whispered.

She looked around and spotted Artie and Finn's heads in the middle row. She pointed to them. "Stay low and let's head to the row behind Artie and Finn. But don't say anything, don't want to distract them."

They quietly made their way there and hid in the seats behind them, but poked their heads out so they could watch the rest of the production without being seen.

Rachel spotted Sam and almost fainted. _There_ was the love of her life, her knight in shining armor. She most definitely couldn't wait to have him close to her at the end.

Suddenly, they both heard Finn sniff. "Do you smell perfume? Artie, are you wearing perfume?"

"What are you, crazy? Why the heck would I be wearing perfume?" Artie replied clearly annoyed.

Rachel and Kurt cupped their hands to their mouths to quiet their giggles.

Suddenly, Artie sniffed. "Are you wearing cologne?"

"No." Finn remarked.

"Dang it!" Kurt whispered, a little _too _loudly.

Finn and Artie jumped in their seats. "Did you hear something? I think it came behind us."

"Not now, Finn, we have to focus on the production."

Rachel decided to use that opportunity to mess with them. She reached up and poked Finn in the head.

"Ouch!" He screamed and turned around. She saw his eyes widen and his jaw dropped so she leaped up and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Sh, don't scream! It's me and Kurt."

Artie turned around and grinned. "Hi, Rachel. Hi, Kurt."

Kurt poked his head up sheepishly. "Hi, Artie, Finn."

"They're doing quite well." Rachel remarked. "I like the girl playing Sandy."

Artie nodded. "That's Marley, she's new in the Glee Club. Her Mom is the new head lunch lady."

Finn pointed to the mocha-colored boy playing Putzie. "That's Jake Pukerman, Puck's half-brother. But he doesn't like to be acknowledged as that. And the guy playing Danny, he's Ryder, another new guy."

Artie pointed to the blonde girl playing Patty Simcox. "That's Kitty, the new head Cheerio."

Rachel giggled and pointed to Sam. "Sam's hair looks funny."

Finn laughed nervously. "Yeah, he _really _got into character."

"We'd better get back to focusing on the production, Finn. Rachel, Kurt, we'll chat with you during intermission, okay? During _We Go Together, _sneak out the same way you came in and we'll meet you there after I give the actors a break so you don't distract them."

She pouted. "So I can't see Sam until the end?"

He chuckled. "You and Kurt will cause so much excitement, we'll _never _get to act two on schedule."

Kurt nodded. "You go ahead and do your thing, we'll be quiet."

The rest of the scene went by quickly and smoothly. During the last song of act one, they both snuck out as quietly as they did when they came in.

"All right, all actors on stage, please!" They heard Artie call out. "You all did a wonderful job with act one. Let's take a thirty minute break so take a breather, go get a drink of water, have a snack, whatever. But remember, _don't _go out into the lobby in your costume."

Five seconds later, they joined Rachel and Kurt in the lobby and exchanged hugs. "We missed you guys!"

"Rachel, how's New York?" Finn questioned.

She shrugged and leaned against the wall. "More challenging than I expected. But I'm getting the hang of it."

"How about you, Kurt?" Artie inquired.

He grinned. "Just making ends meet like a _real _first-time New Yorker. Got our first apartment, good job, and I have my best friend right by my side for it." He added, snaking his arm lovingly around Rachel. "Couldn't be better."

Artie turned to Rachel. "So Rachel, how are you planning on surprising Sam? He's _always _thinking about you."

Finn suddenly turned a little stiff and hunched his shoulders. "Yeah...he is."

Rachel noticed and realized that he was thinking about that short time they both were a couple before Sam came along. She turned back to Artie. "I have no idea. I was too giddy just to get here, I haven't thought of anything."

He smiled and patted her hand. "Don't worry, I got something. Just go with it."

Finn eyed Rachel's outfit. "You look different."

Kurt puffed out his chest with pride. "All thanks to _me_. She simply _needed _a transformation."

Finn nodded and smiled. "It looks nice. I like it. What are you wearing for Thanksgiving?"

She shrugged. "I haven't thought of it yet. But I have a _lot _of new clothes to choose from."

Kurt squeezed her shoulder. "We'll think of something, don't you worry."

They chatted some more until Dottie poked her head out of the auditorium door. "Artie, thirty minutes is up."

He nodded and began rolling in. "Got it. Alert the actors, and tell the boys up in the sound booth to start the music."

Finn held the door open for them. "Come on, we gotta finish this last act."

The rest of the show went by pretty smoothly. During Blaine's performance of _Beauty School Dropout_, Rachel peeked over at Kurt to see how he was reacting. Surprisingly, he watched the performance with a straight face. She squeezed his hand remorsefully.

Finally, the rehearsal was over. Rachel and Kurt could definitely see most of the actors start to sweat and panting tiredly after they dropped their final pose.

Artie nodded approvingly. "Great job, everyone! Go backstage to take a breather and pat yourself down, and then all actors report on stage for final notesm but don't change out of your costumes yet. Thank you."

All the actors headed backstage, wiping their foreheads and muttering in relief. Rachel noticed Sam started tousling his hair.

Finn stood up and faced the people in the sound booth. "Guys, you can raise the lights now."

The lights came up, and five minutes later, all the actors made their way onto the stage. Only Sam was missing.

"Where's Sam?" Artie inquired.

"He's in the bathroom washing the grease out of his hair." Jake replied.

Artie rolled his eyes. "I told him he didn't have to use _real _hair grease, use hair gel! Blaine, I need you to get on his case with that."

Blaine nodded. "Got it."

Ten seconds later, Sam came running back on stage. "I'm here."

Artie picked up a few papers he had been writing on and looked at the actors. "Okay, here are my notes. First off, everyone, you all did a _wonderful_ job. These have been a hard few weeks, but we actually made it. Unique, I need some more sarcasm and meanness out of you. I know you have an inner diva, use it! Go to Kitty if you need some advice."

The girl named Kitty sneered.

"All right, next note. Marley, work on your choreography. You got the songs down, but you still seem to be stumbling a bit of the choreography like you're gonna pass out or something. Make sure you eat a snack before you go on and stay hydrated. Clear?"

The girl named Marley nodded sheepishly.

And lastly, Sam...I can't _express _how many times I've told you _not _to use actual grease. Greasers never used actual grease, they used wax or pomade or something. Blaine will accommodate you, you're gonna ruin your hair with grease and it takes you _forever _to wash it out."

Sam shrugged. "Just getting into character, Artie."

"Just tone it down a bit, okay?" Finn added.

Sam nodded.

"Now, before I dismiss you all," Artie began. "let's see if our guest audience members can give you some feedback."

Finn turned around and offered his hand to Rachel to help her up. She grasped Kurt's hand tightly and stood up slowly, yet nervously. As she eyed everyone on stage, there were a lot of mixed reactions: the new kids kept a straight face because they didn't know who they were, the Glee kids gasped and smiled brightly. Sam, however, had a different look. He seemed calm and collected, yet he had a hungry look in his eyes like he was about to leap off the stage.

Artie looked up at them. "Rachel, Kurt? Any feedback?"

She cleared her throat. "All in all, it was a great performance and I really think you all are ready for tomorrow night. I was literally blown away by all the musical numbers and cast. Great job!" She nudged Kurt. "Kurt...any feedback?"

She looked over at him at knew she was _definitely _looking at Blaine. "It was great." He said blandly.

Finn noticed the silent awkwardness and tension, so he jumped in. "Um...everyone, these are Glee Club's former legends Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel."

The current Glee members minus Blaine clapped excitedly. Suddenly, Sam ran forward and almost jumped off the stage, but Artie stood his ground. "Grab him!"

Jake and Joe grabbed his arms before he leaped.

Artie rolled his eyes. "Okay, you all are dismissed. If _anyone _would like to chat with Rachel and Kurt, it will have to come _after _you all change out of your costumes, clean the dressing room, etc. Good day." Before he rolled away, he nodded to Rachel and Kurt. "Nice to see you again. I'll see you two tomorrow."

Sam continued to stare at Rachel while the boys struggled to drag him backstage.

"Go on, Sammy." She said reassuringly. "I'll be here when you're done, don't worry."

All the actors headed backstage to change, and Rachel breathed a small sigh of relief that Sam didn't leap off the stage because who _knows_ what would happen.

Slowly, the actors started making their way back from the dressing rooms. The old Glee members like Tina, Mike, Mercedes, Joe, Brittany, and Sugar greeted them excitedly while she waited. The ones called Unique and Marley ran excitedly over to Kurt and began chatting with him. Rachel saw Blaine emerge, took one look at Kurt, and headed out of the auditorium shaking his head.

Feeling sorry for him, she rushed over. "Blaine, wait!"

He stopped walking and gave her a small smile. Opening his arms, he embraced her. "Hi, Rachel. Nice to see you back."

She smiled, taking his hands in hers. "That was a _wonderful _performance. I positively adored your rendition of _Beauty School Dropout._" While she was talking, Blaine couldn't help but steal glances over at Kurt.

"He doesn't miss me, does he?"

She opened her mouth to defend him, but closed it and sighed defeated. "He does, Blaine, I'm sure of it. He may not act like it or walk around with a straight face, but deep down he misses you."

He shook his head sadly. "Thanks for trying to be honest, but I know, Rachel. I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

She nodded and hugged him tightly. "Will do. Have a good night, Blaine."

After he left, she joined Kurt who had just finished his conversation with Marley and Unique. "How are the newbies?"

He shrugged. "Eager, yet ambitious." He turned to her and looked at her seriously in the eye. "I saw you talking to Blaine." He muttered.

She sighed frustrated. "Kurt, he's my friend too. You should at least _acknowledge _him, be the better person."

He leaned his head on her shoulder. "Honey, I'm not easily one to forgive and forget. This is just really awkward for me. I'll be fine though. Am I driving you home or is Sam?"

"I don't know." She replied. "Do you want to just wait around while I ask?"

He nodded. "Sure. You better get ready to meet up with him." He took his head off her shoulder and looked around, surprised to see it empty. "I think everyone's gone. Where's Sam?"

As if on cue, he emerged from backstage, hair still wet and dressed in normal clothes.

Rachel squealed. "Sammy!"

He leaped off stage and ran to them. The _very _first thing he did was gather her in his arms, pick her up, and spun her around while she giggled. When he put her down, they silently embraced. She inhaled his scent, missing it so _badly_. No one could beat his warm, strong embrace.

"I missed you _so _much. Beyond so much, you don't even know." He whispered.

She nuzzled her her head against his chest. "Me too."

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Kurt cleared his throat.

Sam looked up at him and grinned. "Heya, Kurt. Nice to see you again!"

Kurt nodded. "Same to you, Sam. Will you be escorting her home or shall I?"

Sam looked at Rachel. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

She nodded excitedly. "Of course! Oh, and my Dads were hoping you'd stay for dinner."

He chuckled and stood back to look at her. "My god, look at _you_! I hardly recognized you at first. New York sure has changed you."

Kurt smiled. "She _needed _a makeover, believe me."

Rachel grabbed Sam's hand. "I'm still the same girl you remember, just a _tiny _bit mature."

Sam eyed her outfit again. "You look sexy. But I love it." He then pretended to pout. "Why didn't you tell me what day you were flying in? Did you just come today?"

She shrugged. "Yup, we arrived today. And I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you and see your show." She put her finger to his lips. "Now don't you pout, _I _should be the one pouting."

He tilted his head. "Oh? Why so?"

She sighed exasperated. "We haven't seen each other in _five _months. When we finally see each other again, you spin me and hold me but don't _kiss _me?"

He cupped her face and kissed her gently but firmly, making up for all that time apart. He missed her sweet kisses, especially since she always wore fruity lip gloss. She didn't mind him wearing non-flavor chapstick though. She just admired how it made his lips super soft.

Kurt cleared his throat again. "As much as I _love _seeing your first reunion, I feel really awkward standing here. Shall we walk to our vehicles so that the night staff may close up?"

Sam laughed and put his arm around Rachel. "So sorry about that, Kurt. Come on, let's go."

As they were leaving, Rachel and Kurt told him about their fun adventures in New York. Suddenly Kurt stopped in his tracks.

"Before we leave, I really have to use the bathroom real quick. Don't leave without me, please."

Rachel nodded. "We won't, go ahead."

When he went into the bathroom, Sam cornered her up against the wall. "You look _really _sexy in that new outfit."

She giggled. "Why thank you. You should...and you _will..._see my other outfits I brought."

He leaned in closer to her ear. "I sure can't wait." He said seductively.

They leaned in close about to kiss again when suddenly a shrill but cheerful voice rang out from the end of the hallway. "Sam!"

They both looked up and saw a plump but gleeful girl striding toward them. "There you are! I was hoping I'd catch you after your rehearsal."

Rachel looked back and forth between Sam and the girl. "Sam...who is this?"

Sam pushed himself off the wall and grinned. "Rachel, this is Penny. Penny, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Rachel."

**Phew, I'm DONE with this chapter. Believe me, I've been work on it from days on end. Enjoy my cliffhanger! Bye!**


	5. Penny For Your Thoughts

**Can someone PLEASE tell me how to work the filter on the Glee Fanfiction page? I'm trying to find stories with two people and frankly, these multi-character inclusions are just plain annoying. I've been trying to find Blainchel stories using the "Blaine/Rachel" filter but they are literally ALL hidden beneath KLAINE stories. I don't wanna read Klaine, I wanna read Blainchel! And don't get me started on hunting for Samchel stories, I seriously can't find a SINGLE one. I mean, I can, but they are all hidden underneath Finchel, Klaine, Fabrerry...it's really starting to push my buttons. So if anyone can graciously tell me how to work the filters, let me know. And don't go harassing my inbox of review box with "Why don't you wanna read Klaine or Finchel?". I just don't.**

**Now ANDELE with this chapter!**

**This is so fun picking out Rachel's outfits. I had to do a bit of research, but I found a site that tells me the EXACT names of the articles of clothing she wears with her outfits. The only issue I have with it is that she wears _so _many amazing outfits, I have trouble picking out which outfit she should wear for what occasion. I sure wish I had them...**

"Rachel, this is Penny. Penny, this is my girlfriend, Rachel."

Rachel took a look at Penny and suddenly felt a sense of uneasiness. Sure, she looked pretty and non-threatening in her own way, but there was _something _about her that didn't feel right. Who was she, and how did she know Sam? "Who's Penny?"

Sam turned to her. "She's Nurse Gail's assistant. She's in the nursing program at the community college, and this is part of her volunteer work."

She turned to Penny and politely stuck out her hand while giving her a small smile. "Hi, Penny. I'm Rachel, Sam's girlfriend."

Penny continued to stare at her with what seemed like a painfully fake smile. "This is your girlfriend?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, the one I was telling you about. From New York. Future Broadway star, former Glee Club legend, etc. etc..."

Penny blinked a few times and shook Rachel's hand, her smile never dropping. "It's nice to meet you too, Rachel. Sam didn't know you were flying in today." She turned to Sam and crossed her arms. "I was hoping to catch you after your rehearsal. How did it go?"

He shrugged. "Went well. We got everything down, I think. I'm _really _excited for tomorrow night, especially since my girl's here."

"And I didn't tell him because I wanted to stop by rehearsal and surprise him." Rachel added quickly.

Penny's smile tightened, and Rachel noticed that she never took her eyes off Sam. "I'm _uber _excited to see the show tomorrow, Sam. Grease is my absolute favorite musical!"

Rachel eyed her suspiciously. "Oh, really? What's your favorite song from the musical?"

She knew she caught her when her smile faltered a bit, but she quickly recovered. "All of them! And my favorite character is Fonzie."

Sam stared at her confused. "Um...there's no one in the show named Fonzie. I think you're confused with _Happy Days_."

Penny fake-gasped and laughed. "Oh, really? Oh, I'm so silly. Silly silly me!"

Rachel giggled. "Looks like you'll have to get educated tomorrow night when you see the show."

Penny's smile suddenly turned tense. "Yes...yes, I will. Well, bye Sam. I'll see you tomorrow at the show." She turned her heel and walked away.

Rachel looked up at Sam. She wanted to tell him that there just wasn't something right about Penny, but that would make her seem petty considering they just met. "You're Penny seems to like you, I can tell. She _definitely _doesn't like me."

He looked town at her and tapped her nose. "Well _I _love _you._ Don't worry about her, she's just a supporting character."

She pouted. "That's good. I would _hate _to lose you to a nurse's assistant.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "_You _would look even sexier as a nurse."

She smiled seductively. "A nurse? I'm sure I can make that happen."

The door to the boys' bathroom opened and Kurt came out brushing his hands on his shirt. "Ick, I forgot how much I hated public school soap. Rachel, remind me that we need to go to the mall and stop by Bath and Body Works so I can get some lotion while we're in town."

"What are you guys doing tomorrow before the show?" Sam asked.

"My Dad is taking me and Kurt to a bridal show tomorrow." She replied.

Kurt clapped his hands and squealed excitedly while jumping up and down. "I so can't wait to enter the raffles!"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Kurt, you know that you have to be _engaged _to win those prizes. And what could you _possibly_ do with any of those?"

Kurt crossed his arms and stamped his foot. "Rachel, first off we're old enough to. Second, I'll only enter the raffles that have simple non-wedding prizes like Bed Bath and Beyond bedsheets, and kitchenware." He looked at his watch. "Now can we please make sure we all get to our vehicles safely?"

Sam laughed. "Sure. Where'd you park?"

"I parked in the visitor's parking section."

He whistled. "That's a bit of a long walk. Why don't you ride with us and I'll drop you off at your truck?"

Kurt stepped over to him and engulfed him in a hug. "Sam Evans, you are the _kindest _male human being at the moment. I am super glad Rachel has you."

They began walking outside of the school. The minute the cold wind hit Rachel, she grabbed her sides and shivered. Sam stared at her concerned, took off his jacket and draped it around her.

Kurt blushed sheepishly. "Maybe it was a bad idea to pick out a skirt. I should have checked the weather, I'm sorry."

Rachel shook her head. "No, no, it's quite fine. It happens."

After they dropped Kurt off at his truck, the ride home was quiet but heart-warming. Sam held her hand the whole time, and it made her remember how much she _really _missed him.

He held her hand up to his lips and kissed hit gently. "Did I ever tell you how much I missed you?"

She pursed her lips. "I think I should hear it one more time just to be sure, Sammy."

He turned to her and smiled. "I missed you so much."

She sighed and leaned back in her seat. "It feels so great to be home. Everything looks so...simple compared to the hustle and bustle of New York."

He nodded. "I can tell. You really could use some relaxation. What are your plans for while you're here?"

She thought for a second and combed her fingers through her hair. "Well let's see...tonight, I was hoping you'd have dinner with me and my Dads."

"I'd be delighted." He replied, putting his hand on her knee.

"Tomorrow, Kurt and I are going to the wedding show. Then we're going to see your show and..." She lowered her voice all sexy and rubbed his shoulder. "maybe spend the night with you in your apartment."

He gulped and licked his lips. "I'd _really _like that. Are we still on for Thanksgiving?"

She nodded. "Yup. My Dads are so excited to have your family, and Kurt and Finn's family with us for dinner."

He pouted. "It's gonna be hard to behave with Finn there. I bet he'll also have his eyes on you."

She giggled and kissed his shoulder. "Honey, I promise you'll have me all to yourself, don't you worry."

He looked at her again and stared at her outfit. "What will you be wearing?"

She reached over and tweaked his nose. "You're just gonna have to wait and see."

He sighed and patted her knee. "Fine. I can't wait. What else are you gonna do while you're here?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea. I want to spend time with you but I also want to spend time with my Dads."

He grabbed her hand again and squeezed it tightly. "I'm totally fine with whatever you're up for. For now, let's just enjoy dinner, okay?"

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Okay." However, when she said that, she had a certain uneasiness in her stomach as she pictured Penny's face smiling up at him.

**And boom goes the chapter. Enjoy!**


	6. Right Where You Belong

_**The Next Night**_

Rachel and Kurt arrived back at school all dressed up and ready to see the show. This time, she was dressed in a white Theyskens Jipsi Jacket, black shorts, and Marc Jacobs pumps **(A/N the outfit she wore when she and Finn were walking in Central Park in the episode "The Break-Up")**

"What time is it?" She asked Kurt.

He looked at his watch. "Seven o' clock. House opens in half an hour."

She nodded and straightened her jacket. "Good, that's good. What are you going to do if you come across Blaine?"

His face suddenly turned pale. "I don't know."

She took his hands. "Kurt, at least you could wish him luck. You don't have to say anything else, just a simple hi and break a leg and that's it."

Kurt looked down and away. "I don't know." He said again.

She sighed and rubbed his wrists. "At least wish everyone else luck. The new Glee kids, the other ones...for me?"

After a few seconds, he smiled and nodded. "All right, for you."

They joined hands again and headed into the school. Once inside, they entered the door that led them backstage.

Everyone was hustling around, fussing about something. Tina was running around fussing about costumes, Ryder was hunting around for Marley, Kitty was strutting around calling everyone amateurs, and Finn and Artie were chatting with the tech people.

"Finn! Artie!"

They both looked up and instantly smiled. "Hey, you made it!"

Rachel approached them and hugged them both. "Yeah, we wanted to come backstage and wish everyone luck before the show."

Artie looked around worried. "Good luck with that. Everyone's stressed and jittery right now."

"Think you can lend a quick helping hand?" Finn asked quickly.

She shrugged. "I can try. Where do I start?"

At that moment, Tina came in fuming. "Where is Unique's Pink Lady jacket! I can't find it anywhere!"

Rachel looked around and saw it sitting on a nearby crate. "I think that's it."

Tina pulled it up and smiled. "Yup, that's the one."

Unique came strutting out of the dressing room and snatched it from her. "Thank you!" She examined her shiny pink nails and gasped affronted. "Oh...hell..._naw_. Unique's nail polish is chipped! She will certainly _not _go on looking like this, no she will _not_." She stomped away back to the dressing room, her bright pink pumps clicking behind her.

Rachel giggled and brushed off her hands. "Need anymore help?"

She shook her head, her curly pigtails waving back and forth. "Nope, I think we're good. But it's nice to see you, Rachel! How's New York?"

Rachel engulfed her in a hug. "Nice to see you, too. New York's pretty great so far, but I'm still getting the hang of it. Kurt and I just came back here to wish you all luck, we really missed you."

Tina looked over Rachel's shoulder at Kurt and suddenly frowned. "Uh oh."

"Whatever's the matter, Tina?" Rachel asked worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"Blaine's still been a bit...distraught ever since the breakup. You should have seen his audition...it was hard to watch. I've never seen him so depressed before.

Rachel nodded understandingly. "Don't worry, there will be minimal interaction between them. I know what's up, I wouldn't want to cause a rift that would distract the show. I'm sure you all will do a splendid job tonight."

Tina grinned and hurried off after Unique. "Enjoy the show!" She called over her shoulder.

Rachel walked over to Kurt and took his hand. "Come on, it's almost showtime. Let's go wish everyone luck and get to our seats."

As they both made their way around backstage, they wished every cast member who they passed good luck. The old Glee members thanked them with hugs and the new kids just sheepishly thanked them for coming.

Finally, she spotted Sam in his costume. He was holding a hand-held mirror while coming his hair back the way greasers usually do. She stifled a laugh as she approached him from behind. "They say a hickey from Kenickie is like a hallmark card."

He turned around and gasped in surprise. "When you only care enough to send the best." He swooped down and kissed her softly. "Came to wish us luck?"

She pulled out a rose that she was hiding behind her back and smiled. "You bet I did. And to give you this."

He took the rose and kissed her again. "You're so amazingly sweet." He eyed her up and down and admired her brand new outfit. It made her look for adult and mature than how she used to look in high school. In fact, it made her look very sexy. "You look even _sexier _tonight. You wouldn't happen to be trying to seduce me now, are you?" He said with mock annoyance like a father chastising his child."

She touched his hair and giggled. "You look funny. And you wish."

He sighed and touched his hair. "I don't know what the heck Blaine did with my hair. We both thought it would make it look slick-back like his but somehow, it just made my hair frizzy and weird."

She took his hand and led him to the mirror. "Come here, let me help you or else I won't be able to watch the show without laughing. Give me the gel."

He handed it to her and she started working her hands in his hair. He closed his eyes and savored how good and relaxing it felt. Soon, his hair was sleek and gelled back to perfection.

"Done!" She exclaimed and stood back to admire her work. "_Now _you look like a greaser...or maybe Leonardo DiCaprio via _Titanic_."

He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled. Then he took her hand and brought him closer to her. "With you, I _do _feel like the king of the world."

They leaned in to kiss again but a shrill voice rang out behind them. "Hey, a hickey from Kenickie is like a hallmark card."

They both turned around and saw Penny holding a bouquet of roses. "Surprise! I did a little research." However, she spotted Rachel and her outfit and her smile tensed. "Ah, Rachel, you're here too."

"Penny, what are you doing back here?" Sam asked.

She smiled again and stepped forward. "I came to wish you luck and give you these." She said, handing him the roses.

Rachel laughed. "Um, Penny...you give the actors flowers _after _the show."

Penny blinked a few times and Rachel could definitely tell she was hiding her irritation. "Really? Huh...go figure. I don't really go to these things so I didn't know."

Sam stared at the flowers. "Penny, I appreciate the flowers and you coming to support me, but we _really _aren't allowed to have visitors backstage."

Penny frowned and pointed at Rachel accusingly. "But _she's _back here!"

Rachel squeezed Sam's hand. "I volunteered to help out backstage. They really needed some extra helping hands and asked me, so I'm allowed to be back here." She immediately knew Penny felt threatened but she didn't want to cause a commotion. Still, Penny really needed to back off.

Penny pursed her lips. "Fine then. I'll...go to my seat then. Break a leg."

After she left, Rachel pressed herself against Sam. "She _really_ doesn't like me. She's definitely threatened by me."

Sam shook his head and rubbed her shoulders. "Doesn't matter. You're here, that's all that matters." He said soothingly while placing a kiss on her head.'

Artie rolled up to them. "Hey there, house is open. Showtime in thirty minutes."

She checked her watch. "Ooh, Kurt and I better get to our seats. It's almost time for you to go on."

He nodded. "All right, give me a kiss for luck?" He tapped his cheek, but she grabbed his chin and brought her lips to his. He licked his lips and smiled. "Good enough, now get to your seats."

She grinned and ran off to look for Kurt. For some reason, she seriously couldn't find him _anywhere_, so she started asking the cast. "Have you seen Kurt? Has anyone seen Kurt?"

"I think I saw him and Blaine in the hallway." Ryder pointed out.

She nodded and smiled. "Thanks. Break a leg tonight!" After he walked away, she ran into the hallway.

There, she saw both Blaine and Kurt facing each other, both with sullen looks on their faces.

"Look, just let me explain-" Blaine began.

"What are you gonna tell me?" Kurt cut him off. "That is wasn't serious? That you only made out? That you didn't care about him?"

Blaine sighed. "I_ didn't_ care about him-"

Kurt interrupted again. "Do you think any of that matters to me? Relationships are all about trust." He paused before continuing. "And I just don't trust you anymore."

Blaine's eyes widened and Rachel could definitely still see the hurt in his eyes. She decided to pull Kurt away and give them some space. "Kurt, there you are! Come on, we need to get to our seats."

Kurt kept his head down as he walked past her down the hallway.

She heard a sniffle behind her, so she turned around and hugged Blaine. "Break a leg tonight."

"I don't want to perform tonight if Kurt hates me that much." Blaine whimpered.

She pulled back and looked at him straight in the eye. "Hey, you don't have to do this for him. If you can't do it for him, then do it for everyone else: the cast, the crew, Finn, Artie...and me. Do it for me."

He nodded and wiped his eyes. "You better go to your seats now."

She patted his hand and hurried back to Kurt who was also looking quite sorrowful.

"I don't wanna stay and watch. I'm going home."

She grabbed his hand tightly. "And leave me here to watch by myself? Kurt, you _promised _you'd stay and watch for me. Don't worry about what happened, let's just enjoy the show tonight. Please?"

They continued to keep walking until they got to the auditorium. Everyone started slowly filing in and taking their seats.

Rachel felt someone harshly bumped past her shoulder. It was Penny, who shot her an irritated look.

Kurt noticed and he raised an eyebrow. "Know her?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "She obviously likes Sam and feels threatened now that I'm here."

Kurt squeezed her shoulder. "In that case, I'm staying. And look..." He pointed into the auditorium. "there's Mercedes, Mike and Puck. Let's go sit with them."

They walked down the aisle to their seats which where in the middle of the fourth row. It wasn't fourth row, but at least the cast on stage would be able to see them and they'd be able to watch the performance perfectly without having to crane their necks.

Puck spotted them and patted the seat next to him. As Rachel slid in, he eyed her outfit and wolf-whistled. "Wow, Sam wasn't kidding! New York's changed my hot Jewish-American princess, now she looks mature and _definitely _sexy." He ended his last statement with a purr.

Rachel pushed him playfully and reached around to hug Mercedes who gave her a wink. "I was _hoping _you'd give up those animal sweaters and knee high socks sooner or later. Girl, you look great!"

Quinn stepped around and gave her a hug. "You look really nice, Rachel, _totally _different from the girl I knew in high school."

Rachel beamed. "Thanks, Quinn! You're looking well yourself."

Puck put his arm around both of them. "You look great, and you look great. And I know that _I _look great, so can we take our seats now that we have it covered?"

When they sat down, Rachel took a glance at Kurt who was chatting animatedly with Mercedes about working for _Vogue_.

Puck turned to her and put his arm around her again. "So, babe, tell me about your _marvelous _life-transforming new life in New York. Sam raves about you enough, but I'm sure you have some personal stories to tell while we wait for the show to start. How's New York treating you?"

She shrugged. "It was hard at first, but I'm starting to get used to it. Not everyone's nice but hey, it's New York." She poked his chest. "What about _you_? What's it like being Sam's roomie?"

He smirked. "Pretty interesting. We do normal guy stuff, have guy conversations, yada yada. What's _really _interesting is when he talks about _you_."

She gulped. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, he talks about you _all _the time. He even fantasizes about you. Wanna know how I know?" He leaned in closer to her and whispered, "Sometimes I'll go into the bathroom after he showers, and there's _no _steam in there. You know what _that _means, dun dun dun!"

She stared at him and shuddered at the thought of Sam thinking about her while taking a cold shower. Just the thought of him bare naked, soap running down his toned abs was enough to make her start feeling light-headed.

Puck noticed and burst out laughing. "Ah, I see _you're _also fantasizing yourself. Oh boy, I can't wait to hear what's gonna go down tonight back at our apartment."

Rachel felt herself turning red. "Shut up, Noah."

The lights dimmed and Artie and Finn came up to the front of the stage. "Good evening, everyone, and welcome to tonight's performance of _Grease_. Our cast and crew have been working tremendously hard these past few months and have been doing a fantastic job and are really excited to go on tonight."

Finn gave a shy smile as he took out a notecard out of his pocket and nervously read off it. "Please no flash photography, food or drinks in the theatre. We will have a fifteen minute intermission after act one, where refreshments will me served in the lobby. Thank you, and enjoy the show."

The whole show was actually quite _phenomenal_. The choreography was flawless, the actors were quite convincing, and the whole audience just _loved_ it. The only thing Rachel and Kurt quite noticed was Blaine faltering a bit on his rendition of _Beauty School Dropout_ when he looked out into the audience and apparently saw Kurt. He seemed to lose focus for just a split second, but caught up just as quickly.

After the final song and curtain call, _everyone _was on their feet. It reminded Rachel of the dream she had, which suddenly made her feel a bit uneasy. She looked around as she clapped along, hoping that it wouldn't repeat itself.

After the final bows, the cast and crew presented Artie and Finn with bouquets of roses as thanks for being great directors. Suddenly, Sam stepped up to the front of the stage, surprising everyone.

"Everyone, before we close out tonight, I just wanted to say a little something. The cast and crew, you all did a great job tonight, well done. Finn, Artie, you guys are absolutely _amazing _at directing this production, you deserve more credit. However, _I _personally wouldn't have been able to do my part of this production without a little encouragement from a special someone. I'd like to give a big shout-out to my lovely girl in the audience, Rachel Berry!"

Rachel felt like her heart had stopped. Her dream _was _coming true, only Sam was acknowledging _her_! Everyone in the audience turned to her and was clapping and cheering excitedly. She couldn't focus, though. Her mind was all over the place and she began to feel a bit overwhelmed. It wasn't until Puck whacked her on the back that she began to gain focus again.

"Rachel, get up there! Sam's calling for you!"

She shook her head and looked at the stage. Just like he said, Sam staring right at her and made a beckoning gesture. She weaved her way out of the row and down the aisle as the applause got bigger and louder. When she got on stage, Sam dipped her and kissed her hard. She could just _feel _the absolute passion in the kiss and everything that had happened in the past few days that worried her, from Penny to Brody, just melted away.

After the show, everyone went out to dinner at Breadstix to celebrate. Following that, Sam, Rachel and Puck drove back to their apartment.

"Ah, home, sweet home." Puck sighed as he turned the key and opened the door. "It's been a long day."

"It sure has." Sam replied while leading Rachel inside. "Come on in, babe, and make yourself comfortable."

Rachel emerged inside and looked around, admiring the simplicity of the room. There wasn't much furniture, just the basic necessities like a couch, a TV, a coffee table, a few lamps, and some pictures of the wall. The kitchen had nothing in it and she marveled at how they were able to keep it nice, clean, and simple.

"Everything's so...tidy!" She exclaimed.

Sam shrugged. "It's not much, but it's home for now. You should see Puck's room, though, it's quite frightening."

Puck rolled his eyes. "Hey, I do a lot for a living. I don't have time to nicely fold and put away my clothes. That's why I have _you _to do my laundry." He checked his watch and raised an eyebrow. "Wow, it's getting late. Well, I'm turning in, bit holiday tomorrow. Now you two behave yourselves." He rapped the wall with his knuckles. "These walls aren't soundproof, you know."

Rachel pouted and heaved one of the couch pillows at him. "Noah Puckerman, you dirty pervert!"

Puck dodged the pillow, smirked, and headed to his room singing _Super freak_. "She's a super freak-super freak!"

Sam stretched out on the couch and put his arm around her. "So what do you want to do? We could watch some TV, watch a movie...play some video games. How's New York, by the way?"

_**Meanwhile**_

Penny opened the door to her house and stepped inside, thankful that her parents were away on a cruise. She began to tip-toe up the steps to her room when suddenly, the living room lamp flickered on, revealing her fourteen year old brother, Anthony.

"You're late!" He chided.

She sighed. "Anthony, get over yourself. You're old enough to stay home alone and Mom and Dad knew I was going out. Why are you still awake?"

He shrugged. "I couldn't sleep so I stayed up and watched cartoons until you got home. What are we doing tomorrow for Thanksgiving?"

"How the heck should I know?" She asked, hanging her jacket on a kitchen chair. "I'm going out again."

Antony jumped off the chair and ran to her. "You can't leave me alone again, especially on Thanksgiving!"

She pat his head. "Don't worry, squirt, you're coming with me. We got invited to help out at the homeless shelter."

"By who?"

"Sam Evans." She replied beaming.

Anthony made a popping noise with his mouth. "The football player? I'd watch out if I were you, word on the street says that his college girlfriend is back in town."

Penny ran her fingers through her hair. "All in good time, all in good time. Soon, she'll be back in New York, their relationship will deteriorate and _I'll _be there to comfort him."

He shook his head. "Why would you want him anyway? You're older than him. You're a cougar!"

She rolled her eyes. "Why shouldn't I get my kicks? And he's nineteen, I'm twenty, not much of a difference. And it's not _illegal_. You freshmen don't know _anything_. Now get up to bed."

He sighed and marched up the stairs. "You shouldn't be messing with a happy couple. You're gonna be a home-wrecker."

She pointed up the stairs sternly. "Not another word, march!"

_**Back at the Apartment**_

Rachel and Sam were furiously making out on his bed. It started with a simple kiss on the couch, to getting a bit more passionate and finally frantic. Not only did they miss each other completely, but they missed the _other _sides of each other. They missed kissing, touching, caressing...the things they couldn't do when others were watching.

She slowly started to unbutton his shirt as he rubbed his cheek on her warm shoulder.

"God, I missed this." He whispered.

After his shirt was unbuttoned, she threw it onto the floor and pushed him back on the bed while grinning mischievously. "Oh, it's only just begun."

**(Wipes forehead) Phew, chapter done! It's like a workout for me.**

**Next chapter is the Thanksgiving chapter. There will be a tiny bit tension between Finn and Sam. After that, a Sam/Penny chapter, Sam will visit Rachel in New York, and more tension. **

**Enjoy!**


	7. Helping Hand

**This story is so much fun to write. **

**Okay, I lied. This chapter will deal with Sam and Penny at the homeless shelter while Rachel and her Dads set up for their Thanksgiving dinner. I know you all were probably looking forward to it, I'm sorry!**

Penny pulled into the parking lot of the Findlay Hope House for the Homeless with Anthony and hopped out of the car.

"Are we gonna get some food here?" Anthony complained.

She rolled her eyes. "Anthony, chill out. I'm _sure _we'll get some food here, but if you're still hungry, I promise to make your favorite apple dumplings when we get home. But you _have _to behave yourself."

Anthony pouted and stuck out his tongue. "Penny, I'm fourteen, not eight."

When they got inside, they were amazed at how crowded it was in there. So many homeless people decked out in numerous layers of jackets, gloves, hats, and scarves scattered around the room waiting for the food to be served. Penny instantly felt a wave of sadness as she looked around and saw all the sad, non-privileged people. Suddenly, she spotted Sam from across the room who was walking toward them with two aprons and a wide grin.

"Hey, so great of you to come!" He said, handing out the aprons.

Penny took hers shyly. "Thanks. This is my brother Anthony, he's a freshman at McKinley."

Sam looked down at him and stuck out his hand. "Hey, Sam Evans."

Anthony shook his hand. "You're on the football team. And you have a girlfriend in town." He added that last sentence shooting a glare at Penny.

Sam just nodded and clapped his hands together. "You got that right. Well today, our jobs are just gonna be serving the food. We have people that will be going around like waiters, making sure everyone's enjoying the food and have everything they need, we just have to put the food on their plates. Anthony, since you're a little smaller, you will be one of the waiters."

"Will we get some too?" Anthony asked, but received a sharp nudge of the elbow from Penny.

Sam chuckled. "Sure, we've made _more _ than enough for everyone, so feel free to help yourself to a plate when you get a free moment."

Penny looked around. "So...uh...is Rachel here?"

He shook his head. "Nope, she's at home helping her Dads set up for dinner tonight. It's just me, my parents, and my siblings."

She smiled and rubbed her hands together. "Well that's so nice of her! And it'll just be us three the whole night...serving food to the homeless...what a great way to spend Thanksgiving!"

Sam rubbed his neck. "Well...actually, my parents and I are only staying for about two hours. Then we're leaving to get ready for dinner at Rachel's house."

Her smile fell. "Wait...so...you were just looking for volunteers?"

He grinned and nodded excitedly. "You bet! The shelter always needs more volunteers, we were actually a bit short last year. But I'm _really _glad you came out to contribute your help to the shelter." He looked at his watch. "Oh, get your aprons on. They're about to bring out the food in just a few minutes, let me just go check on my parents."

After he walked away, Penny slumped her shoulders disappointed. First, Sam didn't really want _her _to be there, he was just looking for volunteers, and she wouldn't get to spend Thanksgiving with him. She looked down at Anthony. "Come on, let's go home."

He shook his head. "No way, this will be _much _more fun than spending it at home with just you. And hey, spend whatever time you got with him."

The rest of the night seemed to go by pretty smoothly. The food was brought out, the shelter residents got their plates ready, and it was time to get to work. Sam's Mom stood at the beginning of the line handing out plates, napkins, cups, and utensils with a few other volunteers; his Dad stood with the male volunteers that were grilling, so they were the ones putting meat on everyone's plates. Sam stood next to Penny serving mashed potatoes, stuffing, and macaroni and cheese while she served salad, bread rolls, and cranberry sauce. They made light conversation while they served, and all the while, Penny tried to steer it somewhere.

"So what are your plans for college?" She asked.

"Not sure." He replied simply. "I've been working my butt off at football hoping a recruiter will want me or offer me a scholarship. My family and I have been having money troubles since who knows when, so college might be a problem. If all else fails, my backup plan is to become a model."

"What does Rachel think of that?"

He shrugged. "She's totally okay with whatever I choose. Sure, it'll be even _harder _especially if we'll be even further apart, but if we can survive this year then we can survive more."

Penny pouted and silently continued to serve. That surely was _not _the answer she wanted to hear. She concluded that she would have to try _harder _when Rachel went back to New York.

"What about you?" He asked. "What made you choose the nursing program?"

She gave him a small smile. "My Grandma. She was one of the best nurses' at her hospital in Michigan. I learned a lot from her growing up, she even gave me my first doctor's kit when I was three."

He nodded approvingly. "Is she still alive?"

She shook her head. "She died about five years ago from pancreatic cancer that was too serious. After that, I was dead-set on becoming a nurse, no go-backs. I want to help sick people of all ages no matter what."

During the rest of the time serving, she noticed that he kept checking his watch frantically. She checked her watch too. Four o'clock, four-thirty...

After a while, the line started to die down. She turned to him and gently pushed his wrist down. "Sam, _relax_. Look, the line's starting to die down."

Sam's Mom approached them and handed them two plates. "Here honey, go grab a bite to eat. Dad and I will take care of the second servings."

He took his plate and shrugged. "Uh, sure I guess." He looked around and pointed to an empty spot by the door. "There's an empty spot, help yourself."

They gathered their food and sat down in the empty spot. Penny scanned the room and saw Anthony walking around refilling everyone's cups and having friendly conversations.

"My brother is so thoughtful." She sighed. "He's _always _friendly with other people." She glanced at Sam, hoping that he was also staring back impressed. Sam, however, was busying himself with whatever was on his plate.

"So what kind of music do you listen to?" He asked with a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

She stared at him before answering, hoping _some _part of him gave off the impression of whatever music he listened to. He was probably one of those bad boys who remixed music on his free time, so she took a shot. "Oh you know...Skrillex, Daft Punk..."

Sam made a face. "Ewww, I can't stand Skrillex. That's not music, that's _noise_."

Penny scoffed. "Ok, so what kind of music do _you _listen to?"

He grinned. "_Real _music, wide variety range. But I _mostly _like country music since I grew up in Tennessee."

She raised her eyebrows and ate another spoonful of sweet potatoes. "Country boy, _very _nice! I think you would look _very _stunning in plaid farmer boy shirts."

He chuckled. "I actually have a fine collection of them. They really add to my _farmer boy _roots." He eyed her outfit. "As well as your _wear a dress everyday to school _look."

She pushed him playfully. "Hey, I _like _this look. I don't have to worry about anyone pulling my pants or skirt down."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh please, that age-old trick is _done_. No one goes around pants-ing anymore, that's so middle school."

Suddenly, Sam's dad approached them and tapped his shoulder. "Sam, it's 5:30. We have to go back to the hotel now if we want to be at Rachel's at 6:30."

Penn pouted and sat up straighter. "Oh, you're leaving so soon? Come on, you can stay for another thirty minutes, look how happy everyone is!"

Sam's dad gave her a small smile. "We'd love to but we _really _have to get going. And not to worry, we have people covering the rest of our shifts, so you don't have to worry about being by yourself." He turned to Sam. "I'm gonna go gather Stevie and Stacey."

Sam stood up and brushed off his apron. "Well this has been a nice chat. Thanks again for coming to help out."

Penny stood up with him and grabbed his hand. "Oh, come on, you can stay a little while longer!"

He shook his head. "Sorry, gotta go handsome myself up for my girl."

She sighed and pouted while crossing her arms. "Oh _boo, _Rachel is always stealing you from me. She's a lucky girl to have you."

He smiled and nodded. "And _I'm _lucky to have _her_. I'll see you in school, Penny."

She followed him to where his parents were gathered, and bid them good-bye. As he was leaving, she smiled knowing that when Rachel went back to New York, she would work her way into Sam's life. Be more involved, infiltrate the family, all that jazz. But she had to do it _discreetly _without being too obvious.

Anthony came up to her and poked her in the side. "Hey, they left! Did you want to go home now?"

She turned to the residents who were still eating and grinned. "Nah, we can stay a little while longer. You looked like you were having fun. Wanna help me serve this time?"

He nodded excitedly. "This is one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had! Thanks a bunch, Penny!"

She placed a kiss on his head and pointed to the serving trays. Yup, everything was going to work out _fine_.

**Phew, I'm done with the chapter. I seriously _hated _writing it but I needed to put more Sam/Penny interaction. Now that it's done, I get to work on the Thanksgiving chapter, YES!**


	8. It's Turkey Lurkey Time

**Thanksgiving, here we come.**

**No Penny? YES.**

**Actors, PLACES!**

**And...ACTION!**

Leroy answered the door and found the cheerful Evans family all dressed nicely standing on their porch. "Ah, Evans family, welcome! Come on inside, you're right on time."

As they stepped inside, he held his hand out to Mary Evans, who was carrying a steaming hot crock pot. "Mary, allow me to relieve you of this and bring it to the table." He inhaled and smiled. "It smells absolutely wonderful, what did you make?"

"Meatballs." She replied simply, shrugging her coat off. "It was my mother's famous recipe in the family."

He nodded and gestured to the coat rack next to the door. "Please, everyone, hang your coats on the coat rack and make yourself comfortable. Dinner will be ready soon, Hiram's just working on some last minute dishes he wanted to try out." He walked over to Dwight Evans and clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Dennis, I got the Steelers vs Jets game on in the living room already."

Dennis grinned and nodded. "Thanks, Leroy, I'll go watch it now." He looked around the foyer in awe. "Wow, you Berrys sure like to go all out for the holidays."

Leroy laughed and stepped around him to head into the kitchen. "You should see the house around Christmas, it's _phenomenal_." He called to Hiram in the kitchen. "Hiram, the Evans are here. Come on out and say hi."

Hiram emerged from the kitchen, dusting flour off his hands. He was wearing a navy blue apron that has red sauce stains on it. He smiled when he saw them. "Hello, hello, everyone! Come on in, dinner's almost ready. The Hummel-Hudson family should be here pretty soon, Burt said that they were stuck in traffic."

As they stepped around him into the living room, he approached Sam. "Sam, Rachel's still upstairs getting ready. The dear girl's been frivolously helping us clean and decorate the house and cook the meals, I just _had _to tell her to stop and get ready. She'll be down soon."

Leroy stepped over to them and looked at Sam. "Doesn't he look absolutely _handsome _tonight?"

Hiram scoffed. "He looks handsome every day, but he _really _does clean up nice on the holidays. No _wonder _Rachel loves him."

"Hey, Dennis, Mary, you sure do know how to make them!" Leroy called into the living room. "What's your secret?"

If Sam knew his parents well, he could imagine them sitting on the couch, their faces red as tomatoes. "Thanks, Mr. and Mr. Berry." He said sheepishly.

Leroy threw his head back and laughed. "I'm just joking, Sam. Rachel should be down soon."

"Is Sam here yet?" They all heard Rachel call down from upstairs.

"Here's here, honey." Hiram called up. "Are you ready yet?"

"Almost!" She shrieked down. "Don't let him up here, I'm not ready yet!"

Sam laughed. "Don't worry, I won't. I'm right down here when you're ready."

"Can I offer you a drink, Sam? Water, soda?" Leroy asked him.

Just then, the door knocked once again. He opened the door, revealing the Hummel-Hudson family all dressed up and carrying many dishes.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Carole and Burt chimed in unison.

Hiram smiled. "Happy Thanksgiving! Come on inside, it's starting to get cold out there."

Carole stepped inside carrying a small stack of Tupperware dishes. "Come on boys, let's get these dishes to the kitchen."

The family filed inside in a single line, each family member carrying a dish: Burt with a large turkey, Finn with a second turkey, and Kurt with a large porcelain dish. Both Kurt and Finn's faces were slightly red from the cold chill outside.

Leroy stepped over and took the turkey and dish from them. "Let me relieve you of these and bring them to the kitchen while you take your coats off. The Evans family's already here in the living room. Burt, I got the Steelers game on in the living room."

Burt grinned. "Great!" He followed him into the kitchen with the turkey. "How are they doing?"

Kurt and Finn took off their coats and hats and hung them on the coat-rack. Kurt walked over and hugged Sam. "Hey there, Blondie. Happy Thanksgiving."

Finn walked over and high-fived him. "Hey man, how's it going?"

"Pretty good, bro." Sam replied. "I'm getting kinda hungry though."

"Sam, Kurt, Finn?" Hiram called from the kitchen. "If you're hungry, there's some hors d'oeuvres laid out on the table already."

The door to Rachel's room opened and she shouted downstairs again. "Kurt, are you here? Can you come up here, please?"

Kurt pulled a curling out of his coat pocket and marched upstairs. "Lat minute appearance fairy on the way, diva!"

Both Finn and Sam made their way to the dining room to help themselves to the appetizers. "Hey Sam, not sure if I mentioned this but you did a _really _great job during Grease."

Sam grinned and grabbed a deviled egg. "Thanks Finn, you and Artie were great directors too. We couldn't have done it without you."

When their plates were filled, they stood on the sides of the couch watching the football game with their Dads.

Sam secretly tried to make a wager on which Dad was screaming the loudest, his or Kurt's. His Mom was in the dining room with Hiram looking at interior design catalogs and talking about her new job as an interior designer while Leroy and Carole stood in the kitchen preparing the turkeys.

"Oh, COME ON! THAT WAS A CLEAN HIT!" Burt screamed at the TV.

Dennis stood up and put his hand on Burt's shoulder. "Burt, tone it down a bit. There are kids in the house, too."

Burt looked down at Stacie and Stevie who were on the floor watching _The Incredibles _on their portable DVD player. "Sorry, kids. I'll try to keep it down."

The two kids giggled and went back to watching their movie.

"Ahem." A voice rang out from the hallway. Everyone turned and saw Kurt standing their with his hands folded together. "Ladies and gentlemen...may I present the lady of the house, Miss Rachel Berry!"

Rachel stepped around him wearing a gorgeous red Ted Baker Aspin Knit dress **(a/n the dress she wore in the Thanksgiving episode where they all sang "Let's Have a Kiki"). **

Sam's jaw dropped as he took in her dress. It was seemingly tight and really showed off her curves and figure. Her hair was slightly curled and she had on smokey-eye makeup, even bolder than ever. If he though she looked sexy before when she first came, she looked _beyond _sexy now. He looked around...but was shocked to see something else.

_Finn _was also staring at Rachel the same way he probably was. But he could also see a hint of lust in Finn's eyes. In fact, it was starting to make him a bit uncomfortable. Sure, lots of guys have stared at Rachel, but it made him proud that he had such a gorgeous girlfriend. And he and Finn were close bros...but Finn was also Rachel's ex. So with his girl's ex staring at her the way he was staring at her, Sam knew that both he and Finn better watch themselves tonight to avoid conflict.

Rachel smiled and approached everyone, hugging and kissing them hello. "Mrs. Evans, how nice to see you again! You're looking absolutely radiant."

Mary grinned. "Wonderful to see you too, Rachel. You simply _must _tell us about your New York experience so far!"

Rachel then went over to Stacie and Stevie. "Hi, Stacie and Stevie!"

The two kids leaped up and hugged her. "Hi, Rachel! We missed you!"

She laughed. "I have gifts for you two from New York. I'll give them to you before you leave, okay?" She stood up and walked over to Mr. Evans, engulfing in a big embrace. "Oh Mr. Evans, I've missed you too."

Dennis chuckled and took a step back to look at her. "Is that our girl? Look you, positively a woman already!"

Burt tapped her shoulder. "Hey, don't forget about me!"

She smiled and hugged him. "I could _never _forget you, Mr. Hummel. It would take _ages _for me to."

Carole came out of the kitchen and walked over to them. "Look at you, Rachel, practically grown up. You look absolutely stunning."

Rachel nodded and hugged her too. "Thanks, Mrs. Hudson. You look very nice tonight, too."

Leroy came out of the kitchen wearing his flour-stained apron and put his hands on Hiram's shoulders. "Yup, our baby girl is so grown up, she's even dressing more mature. I could cry...but then I wouldn't be able to announce that the turkeys are ready! Hiram, dear, can you help me fetch them?"

Hiram stood up and followed him into the kitchen. "Everyone gather around the table and get ready to say grace."

While they fetched the turkeys, everyone gathered around the table in a circle: Sam stood next to his family but wanted to stand next to Rachel, too. The Hummel-Hudson family also stood together. Rachel stood on Sam's other side, but when she moved, Finn moved from his mother's side to stand next to her.

She blinked and looked at Sam who was also staring confused, but she could see a bit of uncomfortable-ness in his eyes. Instead of moving, she stared back at Finn and observed the big gap between him and his family. "Finn, could you scoot over a bit? I would really my Dads to stand here."

He gave her an odd look and shuffled over next to Carole. Kurt, who was standing next to his Dad, gave her a wink.

Finally Hiram and Leroy came out with the two turkeys: one for everyone else and a tofurkey for them and Rachel. They set them down in the middle of the table, the smells wafting in the air into everyone's nostrils.

Hiram clapped his hands together. "Now everyone join hands. Dearest Lord...thank you for allowing our good friends and family to gather together for this joyous holiday. Thank you for all our jobs, our roofs over heads, and our abilities to love and accept one another."

"Ditto." Leroy replied, making everyone laugh out loud. "All right, dig in everyone."

Ten minutes later, everyone was settled with their plates. Leroy, Burt, Finn, Sam, and Dennis sat on the couch watching the game. Stacie and Stevie sat on the bar stools while watching another movie. Carole, Mary, Hiram, Kurt, and Rachel sat at the table listening to Kurt and Rachel hash out their adventures so far in New York.

"And as we were walking to the coffee shop, we pass by this guy who looks so _radical_: he has a rainbow mo-hawk, and he's wearing absolutely _nothing _except a yellow feather boa and a pink fuzzy boot. He's running around and spinning like Zac Efron in _High School Musical 2 _ screaming 'SESAME STREET NO MORE! SESAME STREET NO MORE!' So Kurt turned to him, looked at his outfit and called back, 'Put some clothes on, there are children out here and you're practically naked!'"

Carole and Mary laughed while Kurt pouted and crossed his arms in his seat. "Honestly, that was obscene enough to make Carson Kressly cry."

Carole patted her shoulder. "Ah, Rachel...Kurt...you're practically real New Yorkers already once you've experienced your first real street obscenity. We've actually missed your quirkiness."

Mary looked at her dress up and down. "And your wardrobe choices certainly have changed a bit."

Rachel grinned. "Well...New York is a place for change. I wanted to _feel _mature...so I thought one way was to _dress _mature."

Carole smiled. "Well you sure do look lovely."

Mary leaned in closer to her. "All right, girl, enough talking to us old ladies. Go spend some time with your _man_."

Rachel nodded in agreement. "Absolutely, and it was lovely chatting with you wonderful women." Taking a look at Sam sitting on the couch with the other men, she sauntered over to him and draped herself onto his lap. "Hey there, we need to spend some time together tonight."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Burt called out to them from the other side of the couch. "No PDA on the couch during the game. Take it upstairs."

She leaned in closer to Sam and whispered in her ear. "What an absolute _great _idea. We can play some _games_...I have Twister upstairs."

"Ooh, games!" Kurt, who happened to be standing _right _next to them chimed in. "Let's go play some board games upstairs."

Rachel looked up at him and glared. "Um..._Sam _and I were gonna go upstairs and play _Twister_, Kurt."

Kurt frowned. "Darling, I'm pretty sure your Daddies wouldn't let you be upstairs with Sam all by yourself and leave _me _of all people down here watching...football of all things with these neanderthals? No, we're going upstairs and playing Monopoly, because you like to _cheat_."

Finn heard them from his spot on the couch and perked up. "You guys are playing Monopoly? I wanna play!"

Sam looked over at Stacie and Stevie still eating by the counter. "Hey Stacie, Stevie, wanna play Monopoly with us?"

Stevie shook his head and Stacie made a face. "We hate number games, Sammy!"

Mary waved them off. "We got them, guys. You go on ahead upstairs."

Suddenly, Hiram and Leroy came out of the kitchen, one holding two champagne bottles and the other carrying wine glasses. "Wait a second, before we all disperse and attend to our guests while we enjoy the rest of tonight, we both would like to propose a toast."

Leroy handed Rachel one of the bottles. "Here, some pink champagne for the minors. Baby girl, can you pour for your friends?"

After all the champagne was poured, everyone raised their glasses.

"To the reunion of old friends." Hiram announced.

After the toast, Sam, Rachel, Finn, and Kurt went upstairs to her room and Monopoly. It went fine for a while, Finn offered to be baker since he was better at Math. Rachel appeared to be winning for a while, leading Kurt to crossing his arms and pouting like child.

"Aha!" She exclaimed as she landed on the property that Kurt previously purchased. "I'm stealing your hotel, _and _I get a gold star!"

He threw his hands up exasperated. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Rachel this is _Monopoly_, not Mario Party! You don't get a gold star everytime you buy property."

She pouted and looked at Sam. "I don't get a gold star, Sammy?"

He shook his head. "Nope, sorry babe." He stood up and brushed off his pants. "I'm going down to get another drink. Anyone want anything?"

Rachel handed him her glass. "Could pour me another glass of bubbly, honey?"

He took the glass and headed downstairs.

She leaned back and stretched her arms out. "All right, while we wait...Kurt, truth or dare?"

"Oh, we're playing _this _game?" Kurt asked. "Fine, but remember, _no _raunchy truth or dares. We're mature, here."

_**Meanwhile**_

Sam got downstairs and headed to the kitchen. As he got nearer, he saw his Dads and Rachel's still sitting on the couch watching football and his Mom with Carole sitting at the dining room table sewing up a worn out table cloth. He got closer, but suddenly stopped when he heard that they were both talking about him and Rachel.

"It's so nice that Rachel and Kurt are back for the holiday. I don't know how long it'll be until we see them again." Carole said calmly.

Mary smiled and nodded. "And I'm so glad that Rachel's back to see Sam again. I'm pretty sure they've missed each other _very_ much."

He smiled and made his way into the kitchen. Surprisingly, no one looked up and saw him. When he got into the kitchen, he poured himself a cup of Sprite and poured some pink champagne in Rachel's glass.

Suddenly, Carole spoke up.

"You know, I'm actually quite surprised. I had always hoped Rachel and Finn would stay together. They were so in love, I actually looked forward to a nice wedding and little mini Rachels and Finns running around."

Mary looked up and shrugged. "Well at least she's happy with Sam now."

There was a brief pause until Carole stopped sewing and looked up. "So what are Sam's plans for college?"

"Sam doesn't want to go to college. He wants to have a modeling career." Mary replied.

Carole chuckled. "You see, _that's _why I think Rachel's better off with Finn. At least Finn has a _foundation_, taking over the Glee club while Mr. Schuester's gone. Now _that's _a more productive plan than going big."

Mary set down her side of the table cloth and narrowed her eyes. "And what's _that _supposed to mean?"

Carole shrugged. "The modeling business is tough to get into. You're either lucky or you're not, and it's also a tough job to handle."

"Sam's dealt with tougher situations, Carole." Mary replied warningly.

Carole nodded. "I understand, but another thing is that Finn is closer to home, too. If Sam becomes a model, he'll be traveling all over and it'll be as if he's at another college. So what, he's gonna become a model, maybe get famous and leave Rachel for long period of time? A _real _gentleman like Finn would stay close to her if he wanted to be with her so much."

Mary paused and frowned. "Carole, I'd hold your tongue and not compare my son to yours if I were you. Ours sons are _very _different."

Sam continued to stand in the kitchen clutching both his cup and glass very tightly. Who on Earth was _Carole Hudson _of all people to compare him to Finn and make a big deal of she thought Rachel was better off with Finn?

Carole set down her side of the table cloth and took off her glasses. "Now Mary, I'm not saying all this to start an argument. It's just that I am an honest woman, and this is my opinion. Rachel is better off with _Finn _than Sam."

Mary scoffed. "Well Rachel was never _happy _with Finn and is more at ease with _Sam."_

Carole stood up. "Hey, don't knock down my judgment. And Rachel's judgment seems a bit off if she doesn't prefer a guy who is _practical_."

Mary followed, but almost knocked over her chair. "Well _don't _make Rachel's decisions _for _her! My son is perfectly happy with Rachel and she is with him!"

Before Sam could make another move to make his presence known and jump to her defense, both Hiram and Leroy got off the couch and approached them.

"Now ladies," Hiram began. "_both _your sons are excellent."

Leroy rounded on Carole. "But Carole, you simply _must _understand that Rachel is perfectly happy with Sam. Yes, Finn is quite the gentleman, but he and Sam are two different people. Finn is more practical, and Sam is more impulsive, but it's _Rachel's _choice who she prefers. And right now, you're letting your opinion get a little out of hand."

Carole opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but she closed it and sat down with a big frown. "I just think that Rachel's choice-"

Hiram held his hand up. "Now Carole, do not bring our daughter into this. She made her choice, she's happy, that's all that matters." He eyed the table cloth and smiled, willing to change the subject. "My my, you ladies have done a lovely job on that old table cloth!"

As is by magic, Carole and Mary seemed to have forgotten their argument and held it up to show them. "It was no trouble, really, table cloths are one of the easiest things to fix."

Sam sighed frustrated and trudged back upstairs miserably, once again surprised that no one looked up to acknowledge him. Carole's words still stung him..._Finn_ being a better choice? Rachel's preferences are terrible? Rachel _loved _him, for Christ's sake! Hopefully when he got back upstairs, she would make all his worries melt away.

_**Back in Rachel's Room**_

Kurt had just finished Rachel's dare of professing his love dramatically to her pillow. "Oh pillow, cozy and soft..._never ever _leave me!"

Finn and Rachel burst out laughing. "Kurt, that was so good!"

He rounded on Finn. "All right, Finn, truth or dare.

"Truth." Finn replied simply.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You're no fun. Hmm...out of _all _the girls you kissed in high school...which one was the best kisser?"

Finn pretended to think for a second. "Now _that's _a very good question." He turned to Rachel, and in a quick second, he lunged out and kissed her hard on the lips.

She squealed and pushed him back, also bringing her hand back and slapping him hard across the face. "Hey!"

Finn fell back against the bed, clutching his cheek which was bright red. "Ouch, Rachel, that hurt!"

"What do you think you're doing _kissing _me?" She cried out in outrage.

"Finn, I asked you to tell which girl you thought was the best kisser, I didn't _dare _you to do it!" Kurt moaned, putting his hands to his head.

Rachel gasped for breath and scooted away from Finn towards Kurt. "Are you _crazy_, Finn?" She hissed. "If Sam saw that, he'd literally _murder _you!"

There was a brief pause before he answered. He looked down and shook his head. "I don't know. Impulse, I think. I guess...I just-just wanted to see if...you know...there was still something there between us."

"Finn, I _warned _you not to do something like this." Kurt snapped.

Finn implored to Rachel again. "Come on, Rachel, you know there was something between us. I _know _you still have at least _some _feelings for me!"

Rachel sighed. "Finn Hudson, I don't know if it's the champagne talking, but need I remind you, _I love Sam_." She pointed to the picture of them on the wall. "Sure, there was something between us in the past, but this is the present. And in the present, _Sam _is the only one I want. And he _better _not find out about this, or we're all goners!"

Kurt looked around. "Where _is _Sam anyway? I thought he said he was getting a drink."

Rachel crossed her arms and pouted. "As _long _as he doesn't know about that...that..._attack _on me."

Finn rolled his eyes. "It wasn't an attack, it was impulse. I'm sorry, okay, Rachel? I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry."

Suddenly, all three of them heard Sam's heavy steps trudging towards the room. He opened the door and Rachel noticed that he had a sort of stressed and tired look on his face. He handed her her glass and flopped onto her bed.

She frowned. "Sammy, is everything all right?"

He looked up at her. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She got up off the floor and sat on the bed next to him. "Did something go on downstairs? Come on, talk to me."

He shrugged. "Baby, I promise, I'm fine." Suddenly, he noticed Finn's red cheek. "Jesus, Finn, what happened to _you?_"

Kurt and Rachel exchanged nervous glances until Finn cleared his throat and spoke up. "We were playing truth or dare and Rachel got dared to slap me in the face. And _boy_, can she _slap_."

Rachel looked back at Sam, thinking he would start asking questions. But instead, he just shrugged and lay back down on the bed.

Kurt took this as a cue to leave them alone to talk. He uncrossed his legs and stood up. "So...Finn, are you still hungry? I'm going downstairs for some more food."

Finn stood up still cradling his cheek. "Yeah, I'm still hungry."

Kurt ushered themselves out while saying "I'll also get you some ice for that cheek. Hopefully Dad and Carole don't ask too many questions..."

When the door closed, Rachel laid on the bed right next to Sam. "All right, they're gone. Now did something happen downstairs?"

Sam sighed and closed his eyes. "Finn's Mom."

She stared at him confused. "What about Finn's Mom?"

He opened his eyes and stared at her longingly. She stared back with equal understanding, and it comforted him that she was willing to listen. "She doesn't think I'm...good for you. She kept comparing me to Finn and how he was a better match for you." He left out the part about her having bad taste because that would make both of them feel even worse. It was already enough she was listening to his grievances, she didn't need to be dragged into it personally.

He rolled over onto his side, not wanting to face her concerned face. "I know, she's wrong, but still...it hurts knowing that _someone's _not a big fan and will always believe that someone else is a better match for you."

After about a second of silence, Rachel grabbed his shoulder and pulled him so that he was lying on his back again. "Sam, look at me."

When he refused, she leaned down and tried to kiss him tenderly, but he didn't kiss back. She tried again and sighed at his limp lips. "Sam, stop fighting and kiss me."

She went in again, this time a bit more forceful. He eventually gave him and kissed back, whilst running his fingers through her hair. She moans as he slowly left small butterfly kisses along her neck.

She sat back and made sure he was looking at her. "Sam, I _love _you and only you. No one else. Who cares if someone else thinks there's a better match? We're living proof that they are absolutely and utterly completely _wrong_. Sure, Finn and I used to be a little something something, but I could _never _in my life love him as much as I love you. Don't you believe me?"

He smiled, grabbed her hand and laced his fingers between hers. "I do, I believe you. I'm sorry I let it get to me."

She rolled her eyes and kissed his nose. "Good. And Sam...it's not _just _people at home that won't approve of us and are rooting for us to fail, we'll come across a _lot _more later. But again, we are the proof that a love like ours is real. As long as _we _believe in it, we'll be absolutely fine." She stared at her closed door. "We'd better go down soon or they'll think we're fooling around too much up here."

He grinned mischievously and yanked on her arm so that she was lying on top of him. "But we _are _fooling around, aren't we?"

She nodded. "You bet we are."

**Phew, FINALLY that's over with. I swear, I've been working on this chapter for WEEKS while juggling school, speech class speeches, my day job AND my brand new night job, so writing hasn't really been on my to-do list lately.**

**Anyway, I PROMISE the chapters should get better from here. In the next chapter, Sam will visit Rachel in New York for Christmas and meet Brody...and...it'll get a bit awkward.**

**Honestly, Glee should bring back Brody. I've always LOVED his character. When Rachel moved out of the apartment, I was hoping she'd come crawling back to BRODY instead of ELLIOT, but noooo, she had to take advantage of Elliot. But seriously, they should bring Brody back. I don't care if he's just a cameo in the weight room, or a delivery boy to the apartment, or he's positively jobless and homeless and DESPERATELY needs a reason to come back. He and Rachel seriously could have had something there! Geeze, I think I should write to the producers.**

**BRING BRODY BACK!**

**Thank you all and good-night.**


	9. Unwrap my Heart

**Hello hello, my gummy bears!**

**Well it's Christmas time in my story. I've always DREAMED of spending Christmas in New York, but it hasn't happened yet. It's on my to-do list, though.**

**Now let's get started.**

**Oh, and welcome back...BRODY!**

**And...BOOOO Samcedes. That is all.**

Sam grabbed his back from the overhead shelf, exited the plane, and made his way to the gate where Hiram and Leroy were waiting for him.

It turns out that MONTHS before Rachel decided to come back to Lima for Thanksgiving and surprise him, _he _and her Dads themselves actually planned to fly him to New York with them for Christmas. He actually felt giddy, waiting to see how _she _was in her natural habitat.

He kept walking until he saw Hiram and Leroy standing there, all bundled up in their heavy winter coats.

They greeted him with bright smiles. "Sam, you made it! How was your flight?"

He shrugged. "It was pretty good, but I'm just _so _glad to be here."

Leroy nodded picked up his suitcase. "Here, let me take that. Rachel and Kurt are out grocery shopping but Santana's at the apartment so she'll let us in."

Sam suppressed a chuckle, he just couldn't _wait _to spend the next few days with not just his girlfriend, but his crazy ex girlfriend too. He seriously missed them all: Rachel, Kurt, Santana...and it will be quite amazing just to spend his Christmas break with them.

When they stepped out of the airport, they made their way to the waiting taxi cab that took them straight to Bushwick.

"Our hotel is just a few blocks away from the apartment, Sam." Hiram told him. "If you need anything at all, feel free to give us a call. We'll bring you to the apartment tonight so you can surprise Rachel and then Leroy and I will go back to the hotel and be back in the morning."

Sam nodded. "Thank you again, sirs, for letting me accompany with you."

Leroy, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around. "It's no trouble at all, Sam. You and Rachel deserve to spend as many holidays together as possible, for who knows where you'll wind up next year?"

"Have you ever been to New York, Sam?" Hiram asked.

"I came when I was ten." Sam said. "My Dad managed to score tickets to Comic-Con when it was held here in NYC and I even got to meet Stan Lee himself!"

Leroy raised his eyebrows. "Really, how nice! Did you dress up?"

"I went as Thor". Sam replied sheepishly. "My Mom helped make my costume and my hammer was made out of Styrofoam."

Hiram laughed. "We'll have to ask Mary to show us any pictures of that."

Ten minutes later, the taxi pulled up in front of the hotel. Hiram and Leroy checked in, dropped off their bags, and went back to the taxi to take them to the apartment. When they got there, they had to walk up three flights of steps and knocked on the door.

Shortly, Santana slid the door open while eating an apple. Sam took a look at her and noticed just how mature _she _looked as much as Rachel. She was wearing a long, tight, dark blue dress, and black pumps. When she saw them, she hugged Rachel's Dads.

"Mr. and Mr. Berry, how lovely to see you again! Come on inside."

As they stepped around her inside the apartment, she leaned against the doorway staring at Sam. "Well, well well Trouty look at you. You haven't aged a day since I visited."

Sam shifted in his spot. "It was last month, Santana."

She smiled and nodded. "That it was." She took another bite out of her apple and offered it to him. "Want a bite?" When he shook his head, she laughed and grabbed his arm. "Come on in, then!"

When he got inside, the first thing he did was to look around. The apartment looked very...homey, especially for an apartment containing two people who have _very _nice decorating skills. It was very urban , but comfortable, like those awesome display rooms in a furniture store. He also noticed that there were no other doors minus the front sliding door and one that led to the bathroom.

Santana followed in and headed to the kitchen. "Would any of you like anything to eat or drink? We have water, milk, soda, I can make a pot of coffee..."

"Coffee would be nice, thank you, Santana." Hiram said, taking a seat on the couch.

"I would offer you juice," She called from the kitchen as she began making the pot. "but Kurt's been on some sort of juice only diet and hates when people touch it."

"Coffee's just fine, Santana." Leroy said.

While they all waited for the coffee, Sam decided to look around. The apartment was _definitely_ furnished for Christmas: there were lights strung up all across the room, fresh green garland hung from the cabinets, and there was even a nice-sized but not too big Christmas tree in the corner.

"Feel free to look around." Santana said. "The apartment's clean."

"Where do you sleep?" Leroy asked.

"On the couch." She replied simply. "But since we're gonna be having guests over the next few days, Kurt offered to share his bed with me. The rest of my stuff is in Rachel's room. And don't worry about there being a mess, Rachel and Kurt are complete neat freaks. They even threatened to sell all my hair extensions to poor and sad cancer patients if I didn't keep up my end of the cleaning."

Both Rachel's Dads laughed and began to wander around the apartment. Santana pushed start on the coffee maker and walked up to Sam. "What about you? Want anything to eat or drink?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm good."

She nodded and gestured to the kitchen table. "Then have a seat, let's talk."

As he took a seat, she picked up another apple off the counter and began munching on it. "So how has the big Sammy Evans been?"

He cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table. "I've been good Santana, how have you been? Are you liking living here?"

She sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, New York is _definitely _my type of town, but I'd probably like it more if my two roommates weren't a bunch of singing neat-freaks who make every cleaning day like a scene from _Snow White _or _Enchanted_. All that's missing is the helpful cleaning critters."

Sam chuckled. "That is just _too _funny. I'm actually pretty excited to spend Christmas here in New York with you all."

The coffee maker beeped, so she got up and began making the Dads' their coffees. "So I hear your Rachel's Christmas surprise slash present."

He frowned. "You didn't _tell _her, did you?"

She shook her head. "Relax, I haven't said a word. For all she knows, you're probably still back in Lima helping out at the homeless shelter again." She picked up her cups of coffee and set them on the coffee table. "Mr. and Mr. Berry, your coffees are ready."

Both men came out of Rachel's room and sat back down on the couch. "Thanks, Santana! What's the status of Kurt and Rachel?"

She checked her phone. "Well Kurt hasn't texted me saying that they're on their way back yet. I know that they're getting a _crap_-load of groceries because the apartment's gonna have a heck lot of people in it on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."

"Oh, are you throwing a Christmas party?" Hiram asked.

She shook her head. "That's not what Rachel and Kurt call it, but I'll let them give you the details." She sat back down at the kitchen table with Sam and grabbed his arm tightly. "All right, since you're staying here the next few days, here's a few of Auntie Tanny's rules. Number one: keep your clothes on at _all _times, and if I walk into the bathroom while you're taking a shower, you better _stay _in that shower until I leave. Heaven knows that you're abs are still a piece of work enough for me to go straight again. Rule two: you already know that I sleep on the couch and there are no doors, just curtains, but I _better _not hear and nonsense coming from Rachel's room."

Sam blinked. "What nonsense could you _possibly _be talking about."

She glared at him. "Oh, you _know_." Suddenly, she began caressing her body and obnoxiously moaning like the scene from _When Harry Met Sally_. Sam felt all the blood rush to his face and Hiram and Leroy wound up bursting out laughing at the sight.

Sam felt awkward watching her and he could feel his face turning red, so he reached out to grab her arms and pinned them to her side. "We _don't _sound like that, Santana!"

She rolled her eyes and yanked her arms back. "Do _too_, Sam, I should know. Does Rachel even know that you scream out random male celebrity names when you orgasm?" She turned to Hiram and Leroy. "The _first _time we had sex, he screamed out 'NICHOLAS CAGE!'"

Leroy cleared his throat and stirred his coffee awkwardly. "Goodness, Santana...you sure aren't shy when it comes to conversations."

She shrugged. "It's always been true." Suddenly, she rounded on Sam again and pointed her finger at him threateningly. "But if I hear even _one _orgasmic noise coming from either _one _of you during your stay, I swear to God I will come at you both in the shower with a knife and toilet plunger like that scene in _Phantom of the Paradise_."

He cringed back in his seat. "You've seen that movie?"

She nodded. "Kurt had to watch it at home for his Musical Film Studies class. I was bored so I watched it with him, and I kind of like it. It's weird but really edgy and bad-ass if you ask me. And seeing that Beef character reminded me of you _almost _playing Rocky in _The Rocky Horror Show_. By the way, why the hell would you let your soon-to-be girlfriend perform _Toucha-Toucha-Toucha Touch Me_ with Mr. Schue, huh? Damn, that was _so_ cringe-worthy to watch, I actually felt so bad for them."

As she continued to chat on, Sam just sat there with his chin in his hand staring at her admirably. Her style had changed, but Santana was still _just _the same: she was still honest, she didn't hold back on her opinions, she was still funny...yup, still the same.

Suddenly, her phone rang in her pocket. She checked it and smiled. "Speak of the devils, Kurt and Rachel just left the grocery store. They'll be here in about twenty minutes, depending on which train they catch, so whatever you're planning on doing to surprise her, better do it now."

Sam, Hiram, and Leroy got up from their seats and went over to Leroy's big duffel bag that he brought in that was sitting by the door. Santana watched them curiously while leaning against the counter.

"So...are you gonna make him pop out of a cake or what?"

"Sorry, Santana, no time to bake a giant cake." Leroy said and pulled out two big rolls of Christmas wrapping paper. "Our idea isn't very original."

Hiram gestured to the floor. "All right, Sam, now lie down on the floor by the tree so we can measure you with the wrapping paper."

Santana raised her eyebrows. "You're _seriously _just gonna wrap him in paper? How are you going to explain it to Rachel before she unwraps him?"

Sam shrugged as he laid himself on the floor. "Just trust us, Santana."

When he was measured, he laid on one end of the paper, and began rolling to the other side while Hiram and Leroy rolled after him, like a giant sushi roll. They folded the ends where his head and feet where and stuck a bow on top.

Sam _definitely _felt slightly claustrophobic and he couldn't really breathe inside the paper.

"Sam, how are you feeling? Can you try to wiggle your fingers and let us know?" Leroy asked.

Sam wiggled his fingers and tried to steady his breathing.

"Leroy, the boy can't breathe. We need to poke a hole."

"Sam, lean back against the paper as much as you can so I can poke a hole where your nose is."

He leaned back and felt some prodding against his nose. Then he heard the sound of a pencil poking through the paper, narrowly missing his nose by a few inches. "Got it, I can breathe now."

He heard Santana mumble "The cake idea would have been better." and heard her heels clicking away. After a few minutes of waiting around, he heard the sliding door open. "They're coming!" She hissed.

"All right, Sam," Hiram whispered. "Just relax in their for a few minutes and let us do the rest."

He nodded inside the paper and wiggled his fingers once more, afraid that anymore time would make his limbs go numb. He counted the seconds patiently.

Finally, he heard the cheerful sounds of Kurt and Rachel's voices ringing through the apartment. Sam tried to make out what they were saying, but all their voices were jumbled together. He heard Rachel's excited squeals, Hiram and Leroy's offers to help them with their grocery bags, and Santana protesting for them to keep their voices down.

It took four minutes, and fifteen seconds for everyone to greet each other and quiet down. Now all that was left was to have Rachel see the present.

"Rachel, baby girl, we brought Sam's present for you with us. It's sitting under the tree."

Sam could just hear the surprise in her voice. "It's so _big_! How on Earth did you get it on the plane?"

"Don't worry about that, just open it."

"Can't I just wait until Christmas Eve or Day?"

"Sorry honey, we have specific instructions from Sam himself that you need to open it right when you got home."

"Fine, let me FaceTime him then so he can watch me."

He heard her dialing on her phone as it tried to connect to his. Fortunately he planned ahead and left his phone on silent since he got off the plane. He could just see her frowning as she hung up the phone and heard the disappointment in her voice.

"He's not answering, maybe I should open it later when he's available."

"Honey, Sam wants you to open it _now_." Leroy said.

Sam heard Rachel's boots clicking to his wrapped figure and he felt her nudge with her toe. "Geeze, did he sent me a rug or something? _Fine_, I'll open it."

He felt her hands on the end of the paper where his head was but Hiram stopped her.

"Open it at the other end, honey. We put a lot of tape on this end, it'll take a while to rip it."

She moved to the end where his feet were and began ripping the paper. He made sure to stay absolutely still as she removed it bit by bit.

"Okay, did Sam send me a mannequin? The legs are a bit surprising and creepy."

"Keep opening it." Leroy said.

His legs were already free...then his hands...then his arms...then his neck...but then she stopped before she could unwrap his head.

"He feels so lifelike, but I'm afraid to unwrap the head. If he seriously got me a mannequin for Christmas, I'm dumping him."

Santana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just finish opening your present, Berry, and spare us all the unnecessary suspense."

Very slowly, Rachel reached up and pulled off the remaining piece of wrapping paper, unveiling his face. He gave her a small smile and sat up. In return, she gasped and fell backward on her bottom.

He laughed and opened his arms to her. "Surprise, babe!"

She continued to sit there, stuttering and Sam could see tears starting to well up in her eyes. "S-s-Sam! You're h-h-here...i-i-n New York! With me! At C-c-c-Christmas! H-h-how can this be?"

He put down his arms and shrugged. "Well wayyyy before you planned to come home and surprise me for Thanksgiving, your Dads and I came up with an idea for me to surprise _you _in New York for Christmas. Isn't that great?"

She nodded rapidly, but continued to cry. "It's wonderful. It's the best Christmas gift I've gotten so far."

He shuffled over to her and took her in his arms as she clung onto him tightly and broke down.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Now, look what you did, Trouty, you done made her cry. You wanted to be her surprise Christmas present, and now you done make her cry."

Sam stuck his tongue at her. "Shut up, Santana, you knew about it too."

She finished her apple and tossed it in the trash. "Yeah, right when you _got _here."

Hiram clapped his hands together. "Why don't we give these two a minute alone? Kurt, why don't we start helping you put away all these groceries?"

Kurt nodded and led them into the kitchen. "How was your flight, Mr. and Mr. Berry?"

Meanwhile, Sam continued to comfort Rachel in the living room. He stroked her hair, kissed her cheek, whispered in her ear, _anything _that would calm her down.

"Shh...shh...it's all right, I'm here. I love you."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I love you too, I'm just _beyond _happy that you're here, that's all."

Santana chucked a tissue box at them from her room. "Stop crying!"

Rachel looked up at him and stroked his cheek. "I just can't believe this is real. _You _here in New York with _me_."

He kissed her forehead. "_Exactly _how I felt when you came home to me. We're both just full of surprises, aren't we?"

She laughed and nodded. "Yes, we are. We are. I'm so glad you're here."

He plucked a tissue out of the tissue box and handed it to her. "Come on, wipe your eyes now so we can join your Dads in the kitchen."

He helped her off the floor and put his arm around her as they both headed into the kitchen where Kurt and her Dads were chatting. Kurt walked over and engulfed her in a hug. "Glad to see you're happy, diva."

"Did you know about this?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nope, your Dads know that I can't keep a secret and they've been planning this for _months_."

She walked over to her Dads and kissed them on the cheek. "Thank you _so _much, Dad and Daddy for flying him in. You don't know how much this means to me."

Hiram smiled. "Oh, I think we do, cupcake. But we're glad to see you so happy."

"Kurt," Leroy chided. "Santana mentioned that the apartment's gonna be full on Christmas Eve and Day?"

Kurt nodded excitedly. "Oh, this is _really _exciting. You see, my boss at didn't have anywhere to go home to for Christmas, so I invited her here. Then she mentioned that she had _other _awesome friends who also needed some Christmas festivities, so I invited them too."

Rachel grinned. "And I met these friends. They're really cool because...they're all _drag queens_!"

Kurt squealed and clapped his hands excitedly. "So we decided that instead of having just a small intimate Christmas Eve, we're gonna have a kiki!"

Kurt's announcement had mix reactions. Santana scoffed, Rachel's Dads smiled and went ooh and ahh, but Sam was purely confused.

"What's a kiki?"

Kurt gasped and dropped the apples that he was putting away. He clasped his hand to his chest and looked at Sam like he got bitten by a snake. "Sam Evans, _tell _me you didn't just ask that!"

Sam shrugged. "Sorry, I don't know what it is."

Kurt clapped his hands on the counter. "You've _never _heard the song '_Let's Have a Kiki_' by the Scissor Sisters?"

Sam was about to shake his head, but his mind suddenly drifted back to a catchy tune with the word "kiki" in it that Rachel was singing to while she was changing in her apartment. He shrugged. "I think so."

Kurt rolled his eyes and nodded to Rachel. They both held up their hands and began snapping rhythmically while singing a small verse.

_A kiki is a party, for calming all your nerves  
>We're spilling tea, and dishing just desserts one may deserve<br>And though the sun is rising, few may choose to leave  
>So shade that lid and we'll all bid adieu to your ennui <em>

She walked over to him and scratched his head. "It's just a nice party with awesome people and good food. We're gonna have fun."

He nuzzled her neck. "I'm looking forward to it."

Later that night, after everyone had went to bed, Sam and Rachel watched a movie on the couch. After the movie, Santana kicked them out so _she _could go to sleep, so Rachel led him to her room.

He laid on the bed and watched her contemplate on what to wear to bed. She took out 3 pieces of night-wear: a long silk nightgown, a pink baby-doll nightie, and black pajamas with polka dots.

"Which one?"

He pointed to the nightgown. "That one, your skin feels amazing in silk."

She tossed the nightgown and pajamas to the side and changed into the pink nightie. "I want you to feel _less _material on me."

Sam felt his manhood harden a bit as she very slowly changed in the most erotic strip-tease she had done so far. When she changed, she knelt onto the bed and rubbed his crotch over his jeans.

He groaned and grabbed her hand. "Don't, babe."

She slid up to him and kissed his neck. "Why not? I've missed you so much."

He sat up and grinned. "We can't because Santana threatened to come at us in the shower if she heard even _one _moan coming from here."

Rachel looked at the curtain that separated her room from the couch where Santana was sleeping. She grinned mischievously and pushed him back onto the bed. "I don't care. I _want _her to hear us, she's just jealous. We can make as _much _noise as we want." She grabbed the waistband of his jeans and began tugging them off. "Come on, let's make some _noise_."

He flipped her over so he was on top and untied the string of her nightie. "All right, let's make noise."

_**The Next Morning **_

Sam and Rachel woke up early before everyone else and took a shower. They _tried_ to keep their hands off each other to avoid waking up Santana, but they were able to sneak a few kisses as they washed each other.

Midway through the shower, the curtain suddenly flew open and there stood Santana wearing an owl mask while wielding a kitchen knife and a toilet plunger.

Rachel screamed and hid behind him while Sam just stood there dumbfounded. Santana _really _followed her word by recreating the _Phantom of the Paradise _scene.

"I _warned_ you too not to make a sound." She said threateningly. "I _warned _you!"

Rachel glared at her from behind his shoulder. "So what? Are you gonna kill us now?"

Santana smiled and began twirling the plunger in her hands. "Ooh la la, Rachel Berry in the _shower_. And no, I just wanted to jump you both in she shower like this."

Rachel covered her eyes and cringed back. "Don't twirl that around, you're probably flinging poop on us!"

Santana laughed and pointed it at her. "Relax, I bought it yesterday in case you two didn't follow my rules...and you _didn't_. But I got my revenge and I'm happy. So as a nice homage to this not-so famous scene, here's my closing. I may not be able to stop you from making orgasmic noises in the middle of the night, but you _better _not bring anyone else home to join you. Anyone else that _tries_, _dies!_ Have a nice day, you two."

After she left, Sam burst out laughing. "She actually _did _it...she did the shower scene from _Phantom of the Paradise_!"

Rachel shook her head. "I was wondering about the owl mask, but whatever. She can't scare us."

Sam stifled a chuckle and he held her to his chest. "Oh, I'm pretty sure she did. Come on, let's finish showering."

_**Later that Day**_

Everyone in the apartment was in full hustle. Hiram and Leroy helped Kurt cook the dinner for that night while Rachel and Santana hustled and bustled around the apartment doing some last minute cleaning. Sam offered to help with the cooking, so he sat at the kitchen table peeling potatoes.

Rachel glanced at the clock while she fluffed the pillows on the couch. "Dads, my friend Brody will be here in a few minutes to help out."

"Who's Brody?" Sam asked.

"This amazingly sculpted Beau-hunk who has the hots for Rachel." Santana replied.

Rachel smacked her arm. "Hush. He's just a friend in some of my classes, he's coming over to help cook. He also doesn't have anywhere to go home to for Christmas, so I personally invited him here. And he's a _really _good cook."

"Meow, I smell a dog-fight happening tonight." Santana said from the corner of the kitchen where she was eating her salad.

Sam pictured Brody to just be an average guy in her class, kind of like Artie, that had a tiny crush on her. It actually sounded too cute.

"If I can't, can you get the door, Sam?" Rachel asked.

He nodded. "Sure thing, babe, I got it."

She walked over and kissed his head. "Thanks, sweetie. I'm gonna go re-clean the bathroom, so behave yourself."

Everyone worked in silence for a few minutes. Eventually, Kurt got fed up with there not being any noise, so he plugged in his IPOD and they all listened to current pop music for a while.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the big sliding front door. Sam set down his peeled potatoes, washed his hands and went to answer it.

Instead of just an average guy at the door, a tall masculine, but tanner version of Sam stood in the doorway. He was holding an orchid and a large bag of groceries. Sam even caught how white and shiny hi teeth were when he flashed him a smile.

"Hey there, Merry Christmas! I'm Brody."

**Phew, and here is this chapter. I swear, college has been sucking the creative juices out of me, it makes my brain hurt. But don't worry, the next few chapters will be great, I promise!**


	10. Let's Have a Kiki

**And hello to a new chapter!**

**Can I get an "amen"?**

**(silence)**

**All right, can I get...a...REVIEW?**

**Seriously, I'm not digging the silence. But ON with the chapter!**

Brody was pretty much everything Sam _wasn't _and quite frankly, it got on his nerves.

The minute Brody stepped in, Rachel came out and gave him a super friendly hug, but that wasn't what ticked him off. She introduced him to everyone and he got to work working on some sort of fancy pastry...Sam couldn't cook that fancy.

Brody's attitude with everyone else was different: he was polite to Rachel's Dads, mostly ignored Kurt, and exchanged insults back and forth with Santana.

"Do you know what you're problem is, Santana? You're loud, and you're rude, and you think that _attitude _equals talent." He fired when she teased him about not cooking naked and just wearing an apron.

"I think she's brilliant." Sam mumbled.

Brody just looked at him incredulously and went back to stirring his batter. "Well you're one of the few."

Santana hopped off the counter and walked right up to him. "You know another thing that I am: a hardcore friend, and I can _definitely _smell your sketchiness from here."

He sighed and glared at her. "You're all talk and no proof."

"Don't need proof." She replied simply. "I know _exactly _what you are, and I will dig a little deeper and _destroy _you."

"Santana, Brody, please don't fight." Rachel said as she washed the dishes. "It's Christmas Eve, let's not argue."

Santana rolled her eyes and headed back to the bathroom. "Whatever, I'm gonna go get ready for the party."

"Kiki!" Kurt called from his room.

Brody walked up to Rachel and pulled back some loose hair that was falling off her shoulders. "How do you _tolerate _her?"

She shrugged. "Kurt and I have dealt with her all throughout high school, we're used to her bitchiness."

That was another thing that Brody did that annoyed Sam. He would quite _literally _be all over Rachel and would barely leave her side at all. He'd compliment her here and there, poke her, mess with her hair...all the things Sam would do but it would be terribly awkward if there were _two _guys petting her.

He even brought a pot with an orchid in it because he thought that "orchids are sexy plants".

"So Sam," Brody said turning to him on the couch. "Rachel tells me that you're a senior in high school. How's that coming?"

"Sam's on the football team." Rachel said, beaming.

"Oh really? What position?" Brody asked.

"I'm the quarterback." Sam said. "I'm also on the swim team and the vice-president of the senior class."

Rachel smacked her hand on her head. "My gosh, I forgot you were vice-president. But I'm sure you and Blaine are doing a nice job handling things, right?"

He nodded. "Yup, we got everything under control."

She pouted at him. "Sammy, stop being such a lonely-warthog right there on the couch, come join us!"

Hiram grinned. "Yeah Sam, don't sit there alone, join in on the Christmas spirit."

She held up a plate that she was washing. "You can help me dry the dishes."

Now it was Sam's turn to playfully pout. "Awww chores on _Christmas_, babe?"

Brody set his bowl down in the sink and rolled up his sleeves. "He's right, Rach, he's the guest. Let him rest and _I'll _help you."

Sam jumped up from the couch and in just a second, he was at Rachel's side grabbing a dish towel. "I was just kidding, I'd _love _to help you dry the dishes, baby."

Brody just shrugged and worked on making his next dish. "Refreshing to see couples actually _think _they can last long distance."

_**A Few Hours Later**_

Sam never knew that drag queens could party!

It was _definitely _a little different from having that trans-kid Wade/Unique in the Glee Club. Everyone was just so _different_. And he could definitely see the difference between a drag queen and a regular woman: drag queens always looked more flavor-full. They also talked different, more flamboyant and they _exaggerated _their words a lot.And there were so many of them, that he was having trouble figuring out which was a real girl and which was a drag queen. There were also a few socialite woman tossed into the mix but it was hard to tell who was who.

He could also see that Brody was a little uncomfortable with their surroundings. Sure, he didn't look like a kid going to Disney World for the first time, but at least he _tried _to look happy with everyone around.

The drag queens brought a plethora of exotic dishes, some were simple and Christmas themed while others were unusual but tasty: Cous cous, sushi, Baba ghanoush, gumbo, exotic salads, all kinds of meat, sorbets, tarts, souffles, spice cakes, jellies...so much food that the table looked absolutely fancy.

As he scooped some hummus onto his plate, he noticed a fellow drag queen standing right next to him helping herself to some of the ham wraps. She could have been mistaken as Cher with her makeup, wig, and sparkly clothes.

When she locked eyes with him, he gave her a polite nod and gestured to the food. "You girls really went all out on the food tonight."

She threw her head back and laughed. "Honey, us women at the Ivy League of _FABULOUSNESS _are more than ordinary. We _never _bring simple, plain, and ordinary dishes on holidays! We leave it to the _regular _women to bring cookies and cracker and cheese plates and...mac n' cheese." She eyed the mac n' cheese distastefully.

He chuckled. "Well sometimes it's nice to eat casual food, it reminds you of home."

Suddenly, another drag queen had joined her. _This _one looked amazingly just like Santana from the tight dress, the voluminous hair, and the high heels. "Honey, I would eat a _bowl _of Baba ghanoush to _not _remind me of home." She eyed Sam. "Well _look _at _this_. We're in the presence of a real life honest Calvin Klein model!"

Sam smiled and stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Sam. You girls really did a number on the food tonight."

She shook his hand with her somewhat dainty but manly fingers. Sam took notice of the brightly painted fingernails. "Hello, Sam, I'm Marilyn and this is my friend Paulina.. Are you a model?"

He shook his head and helped himself to a ham wrap. "No, but I wanna be. My girlfriend thinks I'd be a great one too." He eyed Rachel who was sitting on the couch looking at old yearbooks with Kurt, her Dads, and a few other drag queens.

Marilyn looked over and pointed. "That your girl?"

He nodded. "Yup, she's friends with Kurt who invited everyone tonight."

Paulina took a sip of her champagne out of her glass. "She's beautiful. And You're beautiful. I think you both are gonna make some _beautiful _babies."

Sam chuckled again. "Well we're not thinking _that _ahead of our relationship, but thanks for the compliment."

"Yo, when's Isabelle showing up?" she asked Marilyn.

Marilyn shrugged. "Oh you know her, she likes to show up fashionably late sans Carrie Bradshaw. But once she shows up, this kiki will pump up!" She patted Sam's shoulder. "Take care of that hot body of yours, Sam." They both walked away and disappeared.

A few seconds later, Brody showed up in their place and began eating off the cheese plate. "What's up, Sam?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much, just admiring all these...interesting choices of a cuisine."

Brody nodded and frowned at the food. "Way to show me up. _Everyone _knows that drag queens can cook awesome food, if I had known they were coming, I would have made my _own _Baba ghanoush. This just depresses me."

"Personally I like it." Sam said. "Sure, comfort food reminds me home, but I'm totally all for exotic cuisines."

Brody picked up another cheese cube and looked at Rachel on the couch. "She's really a thing, ain't she?"

Sam noticed him staring and suddenly felt uncomfortable again like he did when Finn stared at Thanksgiving. "Yeah, she's definitely something."

"Yep, she's hot." Brody said. "And she's _so _sexy!"

Sam almost dropped his plate and was about to jump to her defense, but he remembered what Rachel told him when she pulled him aside as the guests started coming in.

_Now Sammy, I know that you might think that Brody's a little...intriguing, but I want you two to get along tonight for me. And I promise, you have **nothing **to worry about._

Instead of getting defensive, he decided to put out his claim on her.

"Oh yeah, she's sexy. You should see her in bed, she is a _super-freak!"_

Brody chuckled and helped himself to some quiche. "Hot nasty sex, looks like you and I aren't too different." He left the snack table to join Rachel and Kurt on the couch.

There was a knock on the door, so Kurt went to answer it. In came a woman who looked _exactly _like Sarah Jessica Parker, wearing a bright floral pink dress and a yellow scarf. "So sorry I'm late, she's been a bitch tonight. And by bitch, I mean this snow." She said hurriedly while brushing off her dress.

"Not at all, Ms. Wright." Kurt said while helping her take off her jacket.

"That's Isabelle Wright, executive editor at _Vogue_. And Kurt's boss." Said Paulina who had randomly appeared at Sam's side during Isabelle's entrance.

Isabelle took a look at everyone around the room, threw her arms up and exclaimed "This kiki is _marvelous!" _She skipped into the room and disappeared within the crowd of guests.

Santana came up to him and cut herself a slice of apple pie. "Watch out for that Brody guy."

"I take it you're not fond of him from the insults you've been throwing at each other?" Sam replied jokingly.

She glared and smacked his arm. "I'm not kidding Sam, I knew this guy has had the hots for Rachel even _before _I got here. And you've seen how he acts around her, right?"

He laughed. "Don't worry, I think I threw him off by telling him about our hot nasty sex."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think you've really taken a good look at him. You've pretty much tossed him some bait, given him even _more _reason to pursue her after you're gone. I'm sure he watches his boundaries while I'm around, but he _really _needs to know that Rachel is off limits, period."

"You don't think...she...you know..." He said cautiously.

"Pshh, no." She said simply. "If she did, I would have found out from Lady Hummel who would have been nervous as heck trying to keep it a secret while I'm around and I would have told you, so don't worry. But be wary, you can tell he's gonna bust out the big guns after you leave."

"Why else do you think he's sketchy, Santana?" He asked.

"I'm suspicious about his _occupation_." She snapped. "Rachel says he does odd jobs around town and has a job as a cater waiter on the side, but I'm calling bullshit on it. I mean, who the hell does _odd _jobs in a big state like New York? Back in Lima, maybe, but New York of all places! As for the catering job, if he can make that much cash slinging sweaty cold cuts and room temp champagne, then _any _of us can apply for that job. There is _something _odd about this guy and from the way Rachel's been glorifying him, he is _this _close to moving in. But she's absolutely insane if she thinks I'm gonna let that happen."

He smiled and pat her shoulder. "You're a good friend."

She grinned and poured herself a glass of champagne. "Now what about you, Sammy Evans? Word from Rachel and Kurt is that there's a girl back home that's practically out for Berry Blood. Got a secret mistress on the sidelines? I never really took you to have a fetish for nurses."

He shook his head. "Chill out, Santana, she's not important. She's in the nursing program at the community college and volunteering as Nurse Gail's assistant and I befriended her." He rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "And yeah, she likes me and dislikes Rachel."

She whistled. "Need me to fly home and take a hit on her?"

He dabbed his mouth with a napkin and drummed his fingers on the table. "No worries, Santana, she's harmless."

Santana frowned. "No, _that _is harmless." She said pointing at Rachel and Kurt. "I don't know this girl, so until I do, _she _is not harmless. And she _better _not come after Rachel, or my fists are gonna fly and my nails are gonna scratch. Capiche?"

He nodded. "Right, I'll keep that in mind."

She reached up and lightly punched his chin. "Keep your chin up, Trouty Mouth." She strutted away and disappeared into Kurt's room.

"Hey Sam!" Rachel called over the laughter on the couch. "Come here and look at these with us!"

He started to make his way to the couch when suddenly, he was spun around and came face-to-face with Kurt's boss, Isabelle.

She was holding a glass of champagne daintily in her skinny hands and examined him up and down. "Sam Evans, yes?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm Sam Evans."

She grinned. "I've heard nothing nothing but praises sung about you by Rachel and Kurt...and frankly, I think those were all _understatements_."

He scratched his neck sheepishly. "Really?"

She nodded. "From what I heard, you have a _spectacular _body and a lovely singing voice. From what I see, however, I think I'm in the presence of a _god_."

He blushed. "I think you're out-doing your compliments, Ms. Wright. I don't look _that _swell."

She shook her head. "No, no, no Sam...you're _exactly _what I envision. You know I'm the executive editor at _Vogue_, right?" When he nodded, she downed the rest of her glass and poured herself some more. "Well as executive editor, I only envision perfection. And right now, perfection are fresh new faces on our pages and website. Have you ever thought of becoming a model, Sam?"

He scratched his head and bit his lip. "Well...yeah, I mean I've always thought about it. And it would _really _be a great way to help support my family."

"That it is." She replied. "And also, as executive editor, I have connections with people. Connections with all the _best _of the best modeling agencies who have helped put the faces of our models on our pages." She took a step closer to him and lowered her voice. "If you let me work with you, I can get you associated with the best of the best. You'd be terrific! I can seriously already picture your face on all the billboards."

Sam felt like he had just been handed the moon. An opportunity to be seen by the _best _modeling agencies the world has ever heard of? That would be a dream come true! But suddenly, he remembered that he still had to finish high school in order to have a backup job plan, and it was all a little hasty. He decided to wait. He gave her a polite smile and took a step back. "It _really _sounds like a wonderful opportunity, but that will have to wait a while. I'm still finishing my senior year, and I still have a lot of time to weigh my options. But thank you _very very _much for the opportunity, I will definitely keep it in consideration."

Isabelle pursed her lips. "What a shame, but I'm willing to wait. Because all good things come to those, meaning the world, who _wait_. And Sam Evans, you are _definitely _worth waiting for." She reached into her handbag and pulled out a small business card. "Here, if you're still considering it after you graduate, let me know."

Sam felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Rachel smiling up at him. She hugged his arm tightly. "There you are! I feel as though I haven't seen you all night!"

Isabelle nodded approvingly. "I just tried to offer him an opportunity to jump into the modeling business, but he's a smart boy and keeping his options open until graduation. You were more than right, Rachel, he _is _a studmuffin!"

Rachel giggled. "Why thank you, Ms. Wright, and he's all mine. I'm gonna miss him so much when he's gone!"

Isabelle finished her second glass and grabbed a plate. "You two are absolutely _dazzling_. Sam, if you know any guy that's just like you who likes a gal who likes to cha-cha, call my card. Now please excuse me, I'm gonna sample some of these yummies."

Rachel grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the couch with everyone. "Come on, we're all quieting down a bit and Brody's putting on a movie."

"Oh, what movie?" He questioned as he allowed himself to be dragged.

"The Fifth Element!" She exclaimed. "He said it has sci-fi, action, romance, comedy...and a brief musical number!"

He chuckled. "It does, it does. You'll like it, I promise."

They both sat on the small space that was left on the couch while everyone sat around it. Brody pressed play and the movie began.

"Merry Christmas, Rachel." He whispered, placing a small kiss on her ear.

She smiled and snuggled up to him. "Merry Christmas, Sam. This has been the best Christmas yet."

_**Meanwhile back in Lima**_

Penny was pacing around her room with her phone pressed to her ear. "Hi, Sam, just wanted to say Merry Christmas! I hope you're having an awesome time in New York, you simply _must _tell me about it when you get back-"

Her door suddenly opened and Anthony poked his head in. "Penny, come on out, we're opening presents."

"Not now!" She hissed. "I'm trying to leave a message for Sam and you just ruined my attempt!"

He rolled his eyes. "You've been in here trying to leave a good message for an hour, I'm surprised none of them went through and you bomboarded his phone. Give it a rest, send him a text, and get out here."

"Tell them I'll be out in a second, I'm going to leave one more and this time I'll get it right." She said.

He sighed and closed the door.

_Yo, it's Sam. You know what to do. Beep!_

She smiled and sat on her bed. "Hey Sam, it's me Penny. I just wanted to call and wish you a Merry Christmas! I hope you're having an amazing time in New York, you simply _must _tell me everything when you get back from winter break. Catch you later, bye!"

After she hung up, she glanced at her calendar at all the red X's marked for winter break.

Only _twelve _more days until he came back...

**Dun dun dun! See what I did there? I made the story more interesting by adding some Brody/Sam interaction AND including Penny at the end since we all hate her guts so much! Hopefully that's enough fuel power to...you know...maybe get myself a _review_ for pete's sake?**

**Enjoy, all you lovelies!**


	11. Realizations

**-Sigh- Yup, it's been a while, everyone! Been busy, busy, busy...but hey, a new chapter!**

**I've been gone a long time because I was SERIOUSLY doing some thinking. I spent time trying to piece together how the rest of the story would go, but it was difficult because I was planning on using Penny to be the downright problem of this story. The problem with that is that...I _really _dislike writing Penny so it was hard writing her being all gaga for Sam, so I went away for some time to figure out how to work her in. However, I got a review from user GleekySmile and it gave me an idea, a more _realistic _idea that eliminated what I planned to do with Penny and it actually made more sense. So everyone, say bye-bye-bye to manipulative Penny as I incorporate her to a slightly faded character who is actually a bit _helpful_. Ready?**

Sam returned home from New York a few days after Christmas and before New Years. The night before he left, he and Rachel made love again for what would have been the last time again for a few months. The next day before he and Rachel's Dads headed to the airport, he woke up to find that Santana and Kurt had made breakfast for them. All the while they were eating, he comforted Rachel who was silently crying on his shoulder. He kept promising to FaceTime, Skype, text...go back to their usual routine.

For New Years Eve, he and Puck had all the Glee Club kids and their families over for dinner and had Santana, Kurt, and Rachel join the party via Skype. They all counted down while watching the ball drop, and he kissed Rachel through the computer screen when the clock struck midnight. No one thought it was weird because they were all kissing their _own _significant others. Those that _didn't _have one just kissed each other.

A few days later, it was time to go back to school.

Sam was still asleep when Puck poked his head into the room. "Yo Evans, get up! First day of school again!"

Sam groaned and rolled over. Puck sighed and sat on the bed, giving him a little shake. "Sam, come on, get up. I already laid out your clothes and made you breakfast, so get your 1950s ass out of bed and get ready for school."

This time Sam rolled over again and covered his head with the pillow.

Puck frowned and smacked the pillow. "That's it, you asked for it." He got off the bed and headed to the kitchen. When he returned, he carried a Nerf Super Soaker Scatter Blaster _already _filled with water. "Sam, you _really _don't wanna know what's in my hands right now." When he still got no response, he aimed and fired.

Sam woke up and jumped at the first spray of water. He tried to shield himself with his bedsheet, but continued to get soaked. "I'm up, I'm up!"

Puck continued to fire until the gun was out of water. "Good, now get dressed and eat breakfast. I'll dry your sheets later." Before he left the room, he called over his shoulder. "Don't eat too much today, I'm making Greek food tonight."

Sam trudged off the bed and looked at his phone: One missed call and voicemail from Rachel.

"_Hi, honey, just wanted to call and wish you a great first day of your last semester. You're not awake yet? Get up, sleepy head! Don't make me recruit Puck, you **really **don't want that. Call me later, okay? Love you!"_

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, quickly texting back a reply. _Hope you're happy, Puck woke me up with a Super Soaker Gun and now I have wet bed sheets."_

After he got dressed and combed his hair, he got a reply.

"_You deserved it, can't oversleep on your first day back. Have fun, love you!"_

When he got to the kitchen, he saw a plate of waffles, eggs, and bacon with a glass of orange juice on the table. His phone rang and he grinned when he saw Rachel's face flash on his screen.

"Hey, baby."

He heard a sniff and when she spoke, he knew she had been crying again. _"Hi, Sammy. I just wanted to hear your voice."_

He furrowed his eyebrows. "You're crying again?"

"_I'm sorry, I just miss you...like a lot. I woke up this morning thinking I'd either wake up in your arms or you'd be lying right next to me, and it broke my heart remembering you weren't here anymore."_

Her voice made his heart ache a lot, but he was confused about the super happy texts from earlier. "But what about the happy and cheerful Rachie texts a few minutes ago?"

He heard her sigh. _"Sam, it's easy to text. It's not easy to talk though. I wanted to be brave for you."_

He smiled and shook his head. "Baby girl, I don't need you to send me happy texts to make me think you're okay. I miss you too, a lot, but it doesn't hurt to admit it, ya know?"

He suddenly heard some muffling in the background, but he could tell it was Santana's voice. After a few seconds, he heard her voice clear in the phone.

"_Sorry to steal your girlfriend, Cameron Diaz, but we need to go grocery shopping. She needs some fresh air after being cooped up after you left, and I need my candy. Can I hang up now?"_

He chuckled. "Sure thing, give Rachel a kiss for me, will you?"

She made a gagging noise. _"No way! I may be a lesbian, but I am __**so **__not laying my lips on her! Here, I'll give her the phone so you can say good-bye and kiss her yourself."_

There was a shuffling sound and then Rachel's stiff voice came on again. _Get ready for school, Sammy."_

"I will." He replied. "Go out with Santana and get some sunshine again. Stop crying, I'm still here for you."

She giggled. _"All right, bye-bye. I love you."_

"I love you too. Go on, now."

"_No, you go on."_

"No, you."

"_No, you!"_

He heard Santana sigh exasperated. _"Oh my God, this is sweet. So sweet, I think you both just gave me diabetes. Now hang up or I'm gonna rip the phone out of your hand and give him such a boner killer."_

"_Gotta go, love you. Bye!"_

After he heard the click, he started eating his breakfast. Puck came in carrying a bottle of hair gel and set it on the table.

"What's this?" Sam asked.

Puck shrugged. "Let's see...I laid out 1950s clothes for you, I made you a 1950s breakfast, and now you're gonna make your hair look 1950s."

Sam shook his head violently. "Heck to the no, I'm not putting gel in my hair."

Puck squirted some gel in his hands and rubbed them together. "Who said _you're _gonna be styling your hair? Now sit still, Daddy Puck wants his Sammy boy to look nice for the first day of his last semester."

Sam jumped up and held his fists up. "No way, Puck, don't you come near me or I'll rip your arm off!"

Puck shook his finger warningly at him. "Uh-uh, good people don't rip each other's arms off. Now hold still so Daddy can do you hair."

Sam darted around the table and Puck chased him around the apartment, until finally Puck pounced on him and they landed on Puck's bed. By then, Sam was already exhausted and faintly tried to shield his head, but Puck was already reaching for it. Right when his hands got close to Sam's hair, he paused and then ran the gel through his _own _hair. He sat up cackling. "Gotcha, bro!"

Sam sat up and punched his arm while also laughing. "You son of a bitch!"

Puck rolled off the bed and finished styling his hair while continuing to talk in a fatherly stern voice. "Now Samuel, mind your language or I will tell Mother Rachel on you. I'm pretty sure she'll catch a flight back here in a heartbeat to spank your rear behind until it's as red as Rudolph's nose." Suddenly, he dropped his voice and smiled mischievously. "Although I _really _won't mind watching that."

Sam grabbed a pillow off the bed and heaved it at him. "You perv. Come on, let's finish getting ready."

Puck reached into his pocket and tossed him a pair of keys. "Nope, you're driving yourself today. I had your baby tuned, oiled and fixed up while you were in New York, I figured you'd want to drive back on the first day back."

Sam stood up and hugged him. "Thanks bro, I owe you."

Puck grinned and shook his head. "Nah, it's all good man. But if you want to pay me back, just make sure your next sexscapade with Rachel in here is _nice and loud _for me to enjoy."

Sam chuckled. "You're gross, now finish getting ready."

When he drove up to school, he parked in the senior parking lot right next to Tina's car. She was sitting on the hood painting her fingernails, but when she saw him, she flashed him a bright smile. "Sam Evans!"

He got out of his truck and leaned against the door. "Tina Cohen-Chang! Nice to see you again."

She looked down at her nails and shrugged. "I'd give you a hug but...you know." She wiggled her fingers in front of her face.

He noticed that each nail was a different vibrant color and the wiggling made him a bit dizzy. "It's fine, but I think all that finger wiggling's gonna make me start seeing skittles all day."

She gave him a sympathetic smile and examined her nails. "I'm sorry, Sam. But have you seen Blaine?"

He looked around the parking lot at all the incoming cars and shook his head. "I don't see his car anywhere, must not be here yet. But hey, do you want to go inside and pickup our schedules already?"

"If you're going now," She said. "I'll catch up with you later. I have to dry my nails before the first bell."

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and gave her a small wave. "All right, I'll see you inside."

He weaved his way through the crowded parking lot into the school where it was even _more _crowded with students putting things in their lockers, getting their schedules, socializing, and just downright blocking the hallways. He made his way to Ms. Pillsbury's office **(a/n No time for a wedding, she's still Ms. Pillsbury)** to retrieve his schedule.

Ms. Pillsbury was sitting at her desk when she heard him come in, but she smiled and clapped her hands together. "Sam, hi! _Finally _someone remembers that they can also get their schedule from the guidance counselor."

He gave her a polite nod. "Hi, Ms. Pillsbury. Yup, I'm here to get my schedule."

She opened out her file cabinet and began thumbing through the files. "Did you have a nice winter break?"

"I actually did." He said. "I flew to New York for Christmas and spent time with Rachel, Santana, and Kurt."

Suddenly she looked up dreamily. "Oh, how lovely! How are they doing?"

He grinned. "They're actually doing great. Kurt got a job working for _Vogue _magazine's website, and Santana's working as a waitress. Rachel's been working hard at her classes."

She nodded. "Wow, they sure jumped into the real work pretty fast! How was your Christmas?"

"Oh, it was absolutely terrific." He replied. "Rachel took me to the Rockefeller Center on Christmas Eve and we went ice skating at Central Park."

"Sounds exciting!" She exclaimed. "I've _always _wanted to go to New York...maybe I'll hound Will to take us this summer. But anyway, here's your schedule." She pulled out the neatly pressed piece of paper and handed it to him. "Looks like you've only got one different class this semester, Sam. Instead of chemistry, you'll be taking marine biology with Ms. Gibbons."

He smiled and put his schedule in a folder. "Great, can't wait!"

She nodded and pointed to the door. "Well, you've managed to skip the big line at the front office to get your schedule...but looks like you'll have to manage the long wait at the library to get your textbook."

He blew some air out of his nose. "Great."

She chuckled. "Don't worry, Sam, the library will be open all day. So you can go now, during your free period, during lunch, and after school. Don't worry, you'll get your textbook."

He picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder again. "Thanks, Ms. Pillsbury!"

When he left her office, he headed to the library, but turned around when he saw the _huge _line. Looking at his watch, he saw that he had about ten minutes before the first bell.

_I'll **barely **make it to the front in ten minutes. Eh, I'll come back during free period._

Suddenly, Tina and Blaine ran up to him engulfing him in a big trio hug.

"Let me see your schedule! Let me see your schedule!" Tina exclaimed.

Sam pulled out his schedule and handed it to her. "I don't know what you're so excited about, Tina. All my classes are the same except-" He was cut off when she let out a loud squeal.

"Sam Evans, we _finally _have a class together! Look, we're both in Ms. Gibbons' marine biology class!"

He grinned. "Looks like we do. Did you get your textbook yet?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm waiting until lunch. I'll leave that line to the underclassmen."

He turned to Blaine. "How about you, bro? Same classes as last semester?"

Blaine nodded. "Pretty much...although I'm pretty sure all these classes will be moderately irrelevant for when I get into NYADA."

"You applied already?" Tina asked incredulously.

"I did." Blaine replied. "Now I just have to play the waiting game."

Sam laughed. "I think we're gonna have a _great_ semester this year."

During his free period, he headed over to the library to pick up his new text book before sixth period. On his way to the bathroom, he heard a loud voice bellow from down the hall behind him.

"EVANS. GET YOUR TAILFEATHER IN HERE, NOW."

He turned around and saw Coach Beiste standing halfway outside Ms. Pillsbury's office which made his stomach drop. He knew from experience that when Coach Beiste spoke loudly, then _someone _was in deep water. He gulped and nervously made his way to the office. When he got to the doorway, she stepped aside to let him in. He tried to read her face to see how much trouble he was in, but it was hard because Coach Beiste _always _had a hard face on and _rarely _smiled.

When he got inside, he saw Ms. Pillsbury sitting at her desk with her usual cheerful smile. "Have a seat, please, Sam."

He saw down and automatically threw up his hands. "Look, if this is about the towel-snapping in the locker rooms after practice, I wasn't part of it! I even got my ass snapped!"

Coach Beiste closed the door and sat down next to Ms. Pillsbury. "Calm down, Sam, that's already been taken care of. Three of your teammates actually had to get plastic surgery on their butts because the welts were taking too long to heal."

"You're not in trouble, Sam." Ms. Pillsbury said calmly, making him sigh in relief. "We actually called you in because it's that time of year where we call the seniors in to talk about their college plans."

"Do you _have _any plans for after you graduate, Sam?" Coach Beiste asked.

Sam rubbed his neck nervously. "Well...sort of. I mean, Rachel and I have been discussing a lot and I do have one option open."

"Really?" Ms. Pillsbury inquired. "Do share."

"Well I already know that my grades aren't _too _impressive for colleges." He said simply. "But one of my options after graduation is to move to New York and become a male model."

Both Ms. Pillsbury and Coach Beiste stared at him oddly for a few seconds until finally Ms. Pillsbury shifted in her seat. "Um...are you sure that's a good idea, Sam? Do you _really _just want to jump into the industry right away?"

He shrugged. "Well, it's just an option. Rachel and I thought it would be a good idea since we'd both be in New York together."

"Yeah, but what about if you become successful?" Coach Beiste pointed out. "Sure, you'll start out small in New York, but if you become successful, you'll be traveling all around the world. _Then _what will happen to you and Rachel?"

He opened his mouth to protest, but then the realization hits him and he started having visions of himself being a great model but being too busy for Rachel, and leaving to travel around the world while she stayed in New York. The sight of it made him feel a little sick. "That _is _sort of true...but what about my relationship with Rachel? We're long distance already, is it really a good idea to delay it any _longer_?"

"There's _other _ways you can keep your relationship going and be beneficial to both your futures. You could always go to community college and maybe apply for a college in New York?" Ms. Pillsbury said.

"Or you could get a scholarship to play football with a great college elsewhere, I think some recruiters are coming to the games soon. They'll _definitely _be interested in you, pumpkin." Coach Beiste stated.

They both continued to throw him so many options, it was making his head spin. However, he knew that they were right. Eventually he was going to have to start thinking about what his plan was and to develop backup plans. Was he _really _committed to leaving Lima behind and joining Rachel in New York? Did he _really _think he had what it takes to become a model without finishing his education? If he went to college, Rachel would be absolutely crushed, but Coach Beiste also did have a good point. Becoming a model would only pull them _further _away from each other because he'd be busy night and day.

"What we're trying to say, Sam," Ms. Pillsbury said. "is that you _don't _have to fly to the moon with Rachel for you both to be happy. It's your life, too. And there's _plenty _of other people in the world who went separate ways but still kept their significant other."

Coach Beiste noticed his uncomfortable look and put her hand on his knee. "We know this is a little hard to hear, Sam, but you also have to think about what's best for _you_ before your relationship. But hey, if you want to become a male model, by all means go ahead. We're not stopping you."

Sam continued to stare at them without really seeing them. There was so much going through his head...but where should he start? He was suddenly snapped back when Ms. Pillsbury pushed some college pamphlets at him.

"You don't have to make a decision right here, right now. You have the rest of the semester for that. Just keep your options open. And do come to us if you need help, we'll be more than happy to help you."

"It also wouldn't hurt to bring it up again with Rachel, Sam." Coach Beiste said. "The more you talk about it and work it out, the better the outcome will be. Negotiate."

The bell for next period rang, snapping the session back to reality. Ms. Pillsbury cleared her throat. "Okay, Sam, you can go to class now. But please, honey, don't take this session a little harshly. We do this every year."

He picked up his backpack and went to class.

_**Later that night**_

Puck noticed that Sam was being unusually quiet during dinner and wasn't eating much. "Hey bro, you okay? Is my cooking bad?"

Sam looked up from his baklava. "Yeah, it's great."

Puck set his fork down. "Bad day at school?"

Sam shrugged. "Not really. Ms. Pillsbury and Coach Beiste called me in to ask what my plans were for after graduation."

Puck nodded. "What did you tell them?"

"I told them about the modeling plan, but they pointed out something I never really thought about. I seriously thought I wanted to become a model because I wanted to _and _to be in New York with Rachel, but I suddenly had the realization that modeling would actually strain our relationship even _more_. If I became successful, I'd wind up traveling around the world and we wouldn't be able to see each other even _more_."

Puck swallowed. "So what are you going to do?"

Sam thought for a second. "I'm _definitely _gonna keep my options open and focus on the rest of the semester. It'll give me time to weigh my options...and who knows, maybe my choice will change over time. But I'm keeping myself open to the possibilities."

Puck nodded and took a swig of his water. "What about Rachel? Have you been talking about it with her?"

Sam nodded. "We've vaguely strayed onto the subject...she's totally all for the modeling thing, but gets a bit hesitant when I bring up the option of going to college first. Just...let me get my thoughts together and I'll bring it up again."

Puck stood up and began collecting the plates. "Fair enough, you do what you have to do." Suddenly, Sam's phone rang in his pocket. "And speak of the angel."

Sam pulled his phone out. "Thanks again for dinner, Puck, this was _really _delicious."

"Anytime." He replied simply while walking into the kitchen.

Sam stared at his phone for a few minutes as it rang. Maybe it _was _time to bring it up again. Like Coach Beiste said: negotiate.

"Hey, baby."

"_Hello, my love. How was your first day back?"_

His heart hurt again listening to her voice. Imagine, traveling around the world without her, going to college without her. Which option seemed right? He knew he would eventually have to talk to her again about it, but he'd do it when the time was right. He just didn't know how.

**And there we go. Yes, this chapter seems a bit out of place, but this is the idea and I'm working with it. You're probably also wondering when Sam and Rachel will be together again and who will be the one to give into temptation like it said in the summary? Well you'll just have to see, dear readers. Enjoy and ciao for now!**


	12. Imagine That

**This is just a short filler chapter. Just a shortie one, I'm working on another one that gets the plot moving. You can ignore this one if you want.**

Sam sat in the nurse's office helping Penny assemble new First Aid kits for the teachers. They had both formed a seemingly good friendship, and he noticed that she changed a lot over winter break. Penny no longer _obviously _flirted with him, and was very casual whenever he brought up Rachel's name, so he figured he would back off.

"A fire blanket?" He asked while holding one up.

She nodded while arranging the band-aids in the kit. "New safety precaution. Fires mostly happen in the science classes, but always good to be safe than sorry."

He hopped off the desk and began folding all the blankets neatly. "Wow, you sure know a lot about medical safety."

She shrugged. "Hey, it's so my bag. I'm the only one in my family after my Grandma who actually _wanted _to be in the medical field, and it had its benefits. I don't get sick, I can act quickly to an emergency...it's a shame my creative side's not working."

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

She finished assembling her kit and started on another. "I've noticed that _everyone _is good at certain things, but terrible with the other. I know a lot of medical and safety stuff, but I can't sing or dance or even draw a decent picture. You can sing and play sports, but struggle a bit in school. My Mom can cook up a storm for Thanksgiving dinner, but can't even balance her checkbook correctly. It's so odd."

"Yeah, that's true." He replied and finished folding the blankets in silence. "What made you want to go into the medical field?"

"My Grandma." She said simply. "Grandma was a nurse, and I thought she practically knew _everything_. If we got hurt, she had band-aids, splints, and gauzes on the ready. When we were sick, she knew _exactly _what medicine to administer to us. I swear, we never went to the hospital due to sickness or injury _once_. She tried to convince my Dad to follow her footsteps and become a doctor, but he was more of a businessman. But what she did inspired me...I _wanted _to seemingly know everything. As I got older, I've seen people get injured or sick and it made me worry that they didn't have my Grandma to help then, so I decided that _I _wanted to be the person to help people that didn't have her." She looked at him curiously. "Why so curious? You hoping to jump into the medical field and be a doctor?" She added jokingly. "My friend, you have a _lot _of catching up to do."

He shook his head. "No, just wondering. I've been trying to keep my options open about what I'm gonna do after high school."

She picked up another blanket and handed it to him. "I thought you were gonna move to New York with Rachel and become a model."

He scratched his head. "That's _one _of my options, but now I'm not exactly too sure. I mean...jumping from Ohio straight to New York is a _big _move, ya know!"

She laughed. "Well it looked pretty easy for her."

"That's because she's already ambitious and competitive so she's always one step ahead. Me...I'm not too sure. I've grown up in small towns all my life, and trips to big cities happened just once in a lifetime. So taking on a big city like New York with just my girlfriend at my side...that's a little scary."

She stared at him wistfully. "Growing up does that to you. You start off making all these goals and ambitions, but once you hit senior year in high school, your mind starts spinning with decisions, decisions, decisions. Unless you're _really _committed, all those plans seem easier said than done. What did you want to be as a kid?"

He thought for a second. "A lot of things actually, but I _really _wanted to be a firefighter. My Dad had friends who were firefighters and when my class took a trip to the fire station, I thought they were all total bad-asses. They got to fight fires, save cats from trees, rip car doors open..."

"Yeah, Sam, but those are only small perks." Penny interrupted. "It's a harder job and being in the middle of the action is scarier than they say it is. Same as being a cop or in the military."

He nodded and sighed disappointed. "I know that. It was just something I wanted to be as a kid."

She noticed the disappointment in his voice and put her hand on his shoulder. "For what it's worth, I think you'd make a _great _firefighter."

He smiled. "Really?"

She smiled back and finished assembling her last first aid kit. "You bet I do. You're quick on your feet, impulsive, clever, and always looking for action. You'd do well."

He laughed and pat her shoulder. "Why thanks, Penny, I'll take that as a compliment."

She thought for a second. "I actually think my college has a firefighter program...I could try to get more info about it, but I think we do."

"Hey, that would be great!" He exclaimed. "Just think...Sam Evans, _firefighter_. Has a nice ring to it, right?"

She nodded. "You bet it does."


	13. Evan Evans

**Hi, my cherubs! Here's another chapter for you, thank you all for being very patient with me. Here we go!**

**And yes, I stole the dialogue from episode "Sweet Dreams" to keep the plot going. Just sayin'! Oh, and we are introduced to _EVAN EVANS _but he won't be relevant to the rest of the story.**

**Ready?**

_**A Few Weeks Later**_

When the news about the gun going off at McKinley reached the gang in New York, Rachel, Kurt, and Santana immediately bought tickets to fly back home for the weekend to check on everybody. They could only stay for the weekend, though, because Rachel had to come back and prepare for her _Funny Girl _revival audition, Kurt had deadlines to meet for _Vogue_, and Santana recently got a job as a waitress and couldn't afford to miss anymore days.

Rachel's Dad offered them the house with the spare key for the weekend since they were going away on a business trip to which they took kindly since it was only going to be a quick weekend trip.

While preparing, all three of them attempted to touch base with the other Glee kids to check on them. Most of them seemed quite fine, however, they noticed that no one seemed to want to talk about _each other_. For instance, Brittany just bragged about her early admission and Tina went back to searching for another fashion trend to follow. Asked about anyone else, either the subject would change or the phone line would go dead. Rachel even got worried when Sam stopped answering her calls and texts, and no one would comment on how he was doing.

"Everyone must be taking it harder than we thought." Kurt stated.

They arrived at Rachel's house Thursday night, and the plan was to go visit McKinley the next day. She decided to phone Puck because she forgot that he was probably home with Sam.

"_Yo, girlfriend, what's up?"_

"Noah!" She said frantically. "Is Sam with you? How is he? Is he all right? He hasn't been answering my calls or texts and no one will tell me how he is and I forgot you were home with him and-"

"_Rachel, calm down!"_ He interrupted. _"Take a breath."_

She took a deep breath and asked impatiently. "Noah...put Sam on the phone."

"_He's not here...he hasn't been home the past few nights."_

She gulped. "Where is he?"

"_With the other Glee kids, or so he says."_ Puck replied. _"I haven't really been home much lately because I've been looking after Jake, and Blaine said that Sam can't stand being alone in the apartment so he's been crashing with him. I can't even get him to talk about the incident either, he always rushes off when ask."_

She bit her lip and shook her head. "I'll get him talking. Kurt, Santana and I are home for the weekend to check up on everyone, I'll bring him home after school tomorrow and we'll talk."

"_That'll do nicely, actually. I'm going to LA this weekend and obviously he can't be alone for some reason, and with you here, he'll be just fine."_

Rachel grinned. "LA? What for?"

"_Gonna see if I can take a dabble at screenwriting...I need to find my niche, babe."_

She giggled. "All right, you do that, and good luck. I'll see you around, okay?"

"_Sure thing, take care of Sam."_

"I will, bye Noah!"

"_Later, babe."_

After she hung up, she sank onto the couch and put her head in her hands. "My god, Sam must have separation anxiety."

Kurt sat down next to her and rubbed back. "It's all right, honey, you're here now. You'll help him feel better."

Santana checked her watch and yawned. "Well I don't know about any of you, but I am going to bed now...night, chickas."

Rachel rubbed her face. "What if we go to school tomorrow and everyone's been affected?" She asked worriedly. "Guns are super bad, what if everyone's got like PTSD or something and when we get to school, everyone's all crazy and-"

Kurt held her out by the shoulders. "Honey, honey, _relax_. No one was hurt, no one was killed, everyone at McKinley's _fine_. But right now, you need to get some sleep, all right?"

She nodded. "You go ahead, I'll be up in a second, I just need a minute alone." When he got up and left, she picked up her phone with shaking hands and called Sam's phone again.

_Yo, it's Sam. You know what to do. Beep!_

_**The Next Day**_

Santana, Kurt, and Rachel woke up early and headed to McKinley hoping to catch the whole gang before they went to first period. They stopped by the front office and picked up their visitor passes under the guise of visiting Mr. Schuester.

After scouting the hallways for a few minutes, they were _finally _able to locate a few of the Glee members in the middle of a hallway: Brittany, Tina, and Marley. For some reason, they all looked concerned about something because none of them were smiling and everyone looked serious. Brittany seemed to be in a deep conversation about something.

"They really want me to study string theory, but I'm not all that interested in arts and crafts."

"Isn't M.I.T in Europe? That would suck!" Tina replied.

Rachel, Santana, and Kurt noticed that she was wearing a sort of drab gray dress that looked like it was attacked by suitcases: there was a _lot _of buckles and she was wearing a matching top hat. In fact, she looked _just _like she did two years ago when she was going through fashion phases.

Santana snickered. "Tina, you're a senior in high school. Don't you think you're a bit too old to be playing dress up?"

Brittany, Tina and Marley turned to them and showed no reaction.

"It's called Steampunk. It's the next big thing." She said bluntly.

Kurt put on a fake smile and clapped his hands together. "Well...I love it, Tina."

"What are you three doing here, anyway?" Brittany asked.

Santana shrugged. "We heard about the incident and wanted to see how you guys were doing. But we're only here for the weekend this time."

She pouted. "Boo, you're no fun."

Rachel frantically waved her hands. "Okay, okay, let's skip the small talk. Can _someone _tell me where Sam is?"

Everyone looked behind her and she turned around. As if on cue, Sam came striding up to her but for some reason he looked...different. He was wearing glasses, his hair was slicked back and he head a sweater tied around his neck making him look like a prep-school boy or a character out of Harry Potter.

"G'day, mates!" He drawled out in a thick Australian accent. "How's it hangin'?"

Rachel instantly smiled and she threw her arms around him. "Sammy, it's you! Don't worry, I'm here now so there's nothing to be afraid of."

Sam went limp and he held her out by her shoulders. She noticed him frowning and looking at her as if he's never seen her before. "Beg pardon? Ma'am, you must be mistakin' me for another yank, I'm Evan."

"That's not Sam, Rachel. That's Sam's smarter twin brother Evan." Brittany said with a smile.

"Evan Evans, what a pleasure to meet you." Sam said while shaking Rachel's hand.

She blinked and turned to everyone else confused. "Evan...Evans? This is _Sam."_

Marley suddenly cleared her throat and addressed _Evan_. "Hey Evan,this is _Rachel_, your brother's _girlfriend_."

Sam's face instantly broke out into a huge grin. "Ah, Sam's babe, the New Yorker! Sam's spoken highly of you."

Marley nodded and pointed to the hallway. "Yeah, can you go get Sam so he can greet her accordingly?"

He nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Oh, phone's ringing! It's my brother." He turned around and began running around the corner. "Hey, Sam, I was just about to call you!"

Rachel turned back to them. "I'm confused, what's going on? Why's Sam acting like that? It's like he doesn't even know me!"

Marley grabbed her arm, gently leading her away from everyone. "Uh, Rachel...I need to tell you something."

"We'll see you at the choir room, Rachel!" Kurt called after her.

She pulled Rachel to a not crowded part of the hallway where there was space to talk. "All right, now you see that Sam's been sort of acting funny since the gun went off. We all have. In Sam's case, I think he might have separation anxiety so he's pretending that he has a twin."

"Well...hasn't anyone tried to reason with him?" Rachel asked.

Marley nodded. "Some of us have...Blaine's been trying the most of the time since he's been housing Sam the past few days. I even heard he's been spending his free period in Ms. Pillsbury's office, although I'm not sure how that's going. For now, we've figured to just play along until he comes to his senses." She looked off and saw Unique passing them so she took off after her. "Hey Unique, wait!"

Rachel took a moment to digest what she just said and she instantly felt guilty. Sam...her boyfriend..the love of her life...just went through a traumatic experience and she wasn't there to comfort him. And he also had an absent roommate so he has to resort to using a figment of his imagination to get him by! At least when he moves to New York, everything would be okay.

She felt a tap on her shoulder so she turned around and came face to face with _Sam_ who lost the glasses, the sweater, and his hair was back to normal, although he still had that Sam Evans grin on his face. "_There's _my precious girlfriend."

She walked up to him again and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. He followed suit and she felt the sudden urgency of the hug. She felt him exhale and relax as he held her, feeling the tension he had built up melt away.

"I'm here, Sam, I'm here."

He kissed the top of her head and gripped her tighter. "I know."

_**Later **_

Everyone gathered in the choir room after school where Santana, Kurt, Rachel and Mr. Schuester were waiting. Everyone greeted the trio warmly while Mr. Schuester had a quick word with Brad.

Throughout the day, Rachel noticed that Mr. Schuester was a little more tense than usual. He usually greeted everyone warmly, but he mostly kept a straight face the majority of the day. She figured the incident was stressing him out too and she wondered if his attitude reflected the way he handled the Glee Club.

"All right everyone," Mr. Schuester said clapping his hands together. "we have less than three weeks before Regionals and I have our set list picked out. I just got a text from the Greater Midwest Regional High School Show Choir Board of Directors." He walked up to the board and wrote the word _Dreams_. "The theme is _Dreams_, so our best bet is to take the dream theme literally. For our set list, I picked out _Dream Weaver_ by Gary Wright, _Sweet Dreams_ by The Eurythmics, and _You Make My Dreams Come True _by Hall and Oates." As he stated the songs, Brad walked around and passed out music sheets to everyone.

Once everyone got their sheets, there was a mix reaction between everyone. Some of the boys like Artie, Sam, and Ryder cheered, but everyone else looked very uneasy.

"I've never heard these songs before." Sugar said,

"I think my Mom jammed out to these when she was my age." Kitty said with disdain.

Santana looked over at Brittany's sheet music and rolled her eyes. "Mr. Schue, these are _old_ school songs, I thought you were past that! This is an even _bigger _low than when you rapped _Bust a Move_. You shouldn't be taking a step _back_, you should be keeping up with the times."

Mr. Schuester sighed and shrugged. "Yes, well...unfortunately Santana, you are not a present member of New Directions at the moment so technically your opinion doesn't count right now." He noticed Marley frowning at her music sheets. "Marley, you're frowning. Anything wrong with my song choices?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just that...I don't know any of these songs."

He nodded. "Well you'll know them soon enough, because we're learning them today. First I'm gonna audition any guys that want a solo, so line it up, boys!"

Marley cleared her throat. "Maybe...we could try original songs? Like you did two years ago?"

"Yeah, we _totally_ crushed Regionals two years ago with those sweet things!" Sam spoke up.

"Well Sam, that was a different year and a different team." Mr. Schuester replied coldly.

Marley's jaw dropped and she stared at him incredulously. "Mr. Schue, can't we just _talk _about the set list? I mean, when Finn was here, we got to help-"

"Do _I _have to remind you guys how lucky we are to even _be _at Regionals?" He fired back, raising his voice. "We are there on a _technicality_, which means there is even _no_ room for the smallest of mistakes. Trust me." He added with exasperation. "Anyone else have something they wanna say?"

Santana looked like she was about to start arguing with him about his treatment of the club, but Kurt nudged her to be quiet. No one else said anything which pretty much satisfied him. "Great. Brad, warm them up." When everyone stood up to gather around the piano, he cornered Rachel, Santana and Kurt. "I'm sorry to do this, but can you three please leave the room? I can't have them distracted with any more ideas or rebellion."

Santana opened her mouth again but Kurt grabbed her arm and spoke for her. "Mr. Schuester, is everything all right? You seem pretty tense, especially with everyone in the club."

Mr. Schuester shook his head and pointed to the door. "I'm fine. If anything's wrong, I'll consult Ms. Pillsbury or Coach Beiste, I don't need your help. And I _really _don't need you disrupting my lesson, so if you please."

Rachel sighed. "All right, but if you ever _do _want someone to talk to, we're here." She looked over at Sam. "Sam, I'll be outside afterwards."

When they walked into the hallway, Santana instantly spoke up.

"What the hell, you guys? Everyone's acting weird because of a gun and now Schuester's being a complete douchebag!"

Kurt scratched his chin. "Well...trauma _does_ make people act weird."

Rachel started pacing. "I don't think it's the gun that's upset him. I think it's something else...did you see how he cut Marley off and got even angrier at the mention of Finn?"

Kurt shook his head. "Right, we don't have time to worry about Mr. Schuester or Finn. Right now, we just need to spend this weekend making sure everyone _else _is okay."

Santana crossed her arms. "What's the matter, lady lips? Missing your Blaine-boo already?"

Kurt glared at her. "Psh, _no_, but these are our friends and right now, they're going through a bit of a tough time. So we need to use this weekend to make sure everyone's all right before we head back to New York."

The door of the choir room opened and Ryder poked his head out. "Um, Rachel? Sam's about to do his audition for a solo and said he won't perform it without you seeing it."

She swallowed nervously. "Is it all right with Mr. Schuester?"

He shrugged. "I guess, he just wants these auditions over with."

She followed him inside and saw that all the boys were lined up by the piano, Sam standing center stage. Mr. Schuester sat in his seat, a blank look on his face. She took a seat right next to him and whispered, "I'll leave as soon as he's done."

He ignored her and waved to Brad. "Begin."

Brad suddenly started playing a slow and somewhat melancholy ballad she'd never heard before. Sam watched her, keeping a solemn look on his face.

_What would I do without your smart mouth?  
>Drawing me in, and you kicking me out<br>You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down  
>What's going on in that beautiful mind<br>I'm on your magical mystery ride  
>And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright <em>

_My head's under water  
>But I'm breathing fine<br>You're crazy and I'm out of my mind _

_'Cause all of me  
>Loves all of you<br>Love your curves and all your edges  
>All your perfect imperfections<br>Give your all to me  
>I'll give my all to you<br>You're my end and my beginning  
>Even when I lose I'm winning<br>'Cause I give you all of me  
>And you give me all of you, oh oh <em>

In all honesty, Rachel _adored _the song. She absolutely loved when Sam serenaded her with songs that professed his love for her and this one was perfect. However, there was also something about the song that gave her a small feeling of...uncertainty. She listened closely and within the song, she also felt a stint of sadness coming from him. And for some reason, the more the song went on, the sadder she began to feel.

_Give me all of you  
>Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts<br>Risking it all, though it's hard _

_'Cause all of me  
>Loves all of you<br>Love your curves and all your edges  
>All your perfect imperfections<br>Give your all to me  
>I'll give my all to you<br>You're my end and my beginning  
>Even when I lose I'm winning<br>'Cause I give you all of me  
>And you give me all of you<em>

_I give you all of me  
>And you give me all of you, oh oh<em>

When the song ended, she felt slightly choked up, but she didn't want anyone to see her cry, so gave him a small smile and slowly walked out.

Kurt and Santana looked up at her. "How was it?"

She shrugged. "It was a ice song, but there was _something _about it and the way he sang it that made the song seemed...uncertain."

Santana nodded. "We heard the song, _very _touching. How much longer until they're done?"

They waited outside in the hallway for an hour until the Glee Club was finally released. Most of them were still grumbling about the song choice, Unique and Jake were comforting Marley, and Brittany came up to Santana burying her face in her shoulder.

Sam came up to Rachel and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "So...my place or yours tonight?"

Rachel took a step away from him and faced him. "Um...Sam, Santana, Kurt, and I are using my house during our stay because they're out of town for the weekend. And I don't think it's safe for you to go back to the apartment until Noah gets back, so you're coming home with us."

He stared at her blankly and then smiled. "Fine with me. Did you like my song?"

Blaine came out of the choir room and approached Sam. "Yo man, ready to go?"

He shook his head and nodded to Rachel. "Nope, I'm going home with my lovely lady this weekend. But thanks again for letting me crash with you, I really appreciate it."

Blaine looked from Rachel, to Kurt and then back at him nervously. "What about _Evan_?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but if you see him, tell him I'm hanging at Rachel's this weekend."

Blaine shifted his gaze from them to Kurt and Rachel suddenly saw a mournful look on his face. He clicked his tongue and walked away briskly.

Santana nudged Kurt. "Why don't you go after your honey boo-boo?"

He rolled his eyes and all four of them left the school.

**And scene! That's a wrap for today, everyone.**

**All righty folks, we are getting closer and closer to some MAJOR plot stuff going on so hang in there! And those of you that still are, thank you.**

**Night, all!**


	14. Temptation

**Hola, peeps! **

**Everyone grab your popcorn, it's time for...CONFLICT! **

**Everyone ready?**

**Actors, PLACES!**

**Quiet on set!  
>First positions<br>Here we go.  
>Rolling<br>Speed  
>Slate in.<strong>

**Action!**

Sam rolled over in bed and noticed that Rachel lying next to him. Her bathrobe which usually hung on the back of her bedroom door was missing, too. He was about to call out to her when he was suddenly distracted by the smell of bacon and chocolate chip waffles wafting into the room, so he stretched and got out of bed heading downstairs.

When he got down to the kitchen, he saw Rachel pouring cups of orange juice and bringing them to the table. He smiled as he noticed her tousled hair and no makeup on her face...she was always naturally beautiful.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said.

She looked up and smiled. "Good morning to you too, handsome." After setting down the pitcher, she walked over to him and greeted him with a warm kiss. "Come on and eat breakfast."

He sat down and noticed that the table was only set for two. "Kurt and Santana not up yet?"

She handed him some silverware and sat down across from him. "They left already. Santana went to Brittany's house and Kurt went to go visit his parents, so we're alone for the day." She picked up his hand and kissed it. "Better make the best of it, our flight back is tomorrow."

He gave her a thumbs up. "You got it, babe."

She picked up her knife and began cutting her waffles. "So...what's all this about _Evan Evans_?"

He took a bite and shrugged. "The whole incident really made us all weird. When I got home that day, Puck was gone and I was _really _lonely and I had no one else to call so I made him up out of my imagination to keep my mind off it."

Rachel put her knife down and placed her hand on his. "It _really _affected you, didn't it? Has anything like that happened to you before?"

He shook his head. "No, but the whole ordeal made it feel like I was right in the middle of a horror movie. You don't know if you're gonna survive, if the perpetrator's after you, if they're after your friends, if your friends are gonna survive...and I wasn't sure if I was ever gonna see you again."

She squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry." She whispered sadly. "You shouldn't be feeling like this...and I wasn't there to comfort you afterwards. I'm such a terrible girlfriend."

He sighed and pulled her to him, holding her tightly. "Hey, hey, you're _not _a bad girlfriend. It all happened so fast, _none _of us had a chance to react and you didn't find out until after. But it's all over now." He began to rub her back soothingly. "It's all over, we're okay now."

She looked up at him frantically, her eyes watering. "No, you're not! You had to develop an alternate twin!"

He reached up and wiped away her tears. "It's not a big deal, Rach. Evan is just a temporary thing I developed in the spur of the moment, I didn't know when I was gonna see you again. But now that I've seen you sooner, the idea will go away soon, I promise."

She smiled up at him. "All right."

A few hours later, they were both lying on the couch watching TV.

She sighed and looked up at him. "I always miss this."

He nodded and began stroking her hair. "Me too. I sure can't play with _Blaine's _hair like this."

She giggled. "And just think! By this time next year, it can be like this _every_ night when you move to New York with us."

Suddenly, Sam felt his stomach drop and his heart began beating rapidly. He _knew _he was eventually going to have to talk to Rachel about his options, but he didn't think it would come this soon. She had to know, though, before it was too late.

"Um...baby...I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that."

Rachel sat up on the couch, feeling instantly nervous. By the tone of his voice, he was going to tel her something important. And it was something she _wasn't _going to like.

_**A Few Days Later**_

Rachel sat on the couch in the apartment scowling at the TV because some stupid mushy gushy rom-com was on. She was mad.

She was mad at _everything_, particularly the names Sam, Evans, and definitely one Sam Evans.

Apparently when Sam broke the news to her that he was now a bit reluctant to make a big move to the big city with her and was contemplating staying local for a bit, they got into a _huge _fight. And when he brought up Firefighter School...she completely lost it.

"_Babe, you've **got **to understand and hear me out on this! I'm just not **ready** to make a big move! I'm not like you, super ambitious with high expectations. I'm just not **ready **to take that big of a step yet."_

She grabbed her blanket that was wrapped around her and pulled it tighter.

"_But what about **us**, Sam!? Do you know how hard it is already to be a thousand miles away from you and to only see you every few months? Now we're thinking maybe **years!**"_

She reached for her cup of iced tea and took a sip, hoping it would cool down the fire that was burning inside her.

"_Come on, Rachel, think of it! Look at the reality of the situation. If I become a model and you become a Broadway star, we'll have even **more **time away from each other! At least if I stay local, I won't be even **more **thousands away from you, nothing will change. Don't you think it's hard on me too? Why can't you just respect my decision?"_

When Santana and Kurt got home later that night, they found both Sam and Rachel sleeping in different rooms. The next day, all three of them woke up early to pack up and had a quick breakfast before heading to the airport. Santana and Kurt noticed that neither of them had greeted each other warmly or said a word to each other.

When it was time to leave for the airport, the good-byes were casual. Sam hugged Santana and Kurt, but when he got to Rachel, they just simply muttered _good-bye_. No hug, no kiss, no contact.

On the plane ride back, they both grilled Rachel to spill why there was no more affection from them, but she just simply said that they got into a huge argument and not to expect him to move in after graduation. When they got back to the apartment, she gave them all the details. Instead of siding with her though, they both chastised her for being so stubborn and not supporting his choices. She fired back that they weren't even thinking of _her _choices, but in all honesty...she just didn't want to lose him. She just kept telling herself that she was mad at _him_.

And that led her to being alone in the apartment Monday night. Santana and Kurt both had to work and wouldn't be back until later. The tension had died down, but they were both still taking Sam's side.

She glared at the TV again. Ryan Gosling was reciting his famous _I Wrote You Everyday For a Year _speech to Rachel McAdams in the rain before they kissed. Sighing frustratedly, she picked up a couch pillow and flung it at the TV.

There was a knock on the door and she assumed it was either Kurt or Santana back early. "Go away!" She barked.

"Rachel?" Said a voice on the other side and she realized that it was Brody. "It's me, Brody. Are you okay? Can I come in?"

With her face reddening, she plucked herself off the couch and headed for the door. "Yeah, just a second, Brody! I'm coming."

She slid the door open and saw him standing there holding a paper bag and some movies. He still looked handsome as always.

He flashed her his usual bright smile. "I just wanted to stop by, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages! But...are you okay?" He asked concerned.

She ran her fingers through her hair, wishing she could have fixed herself up a bit. "Eh...not exactly. But I appreciate you coming, come on in."

He followed her inside and she heard him whistle. "So _this _is what you look like on your down time. I always thought you were dressed to the nines 24/7."

She looked down sheepishly at her outfit which was _definitely _something only her closest of all friends, including Sam, saw her in: baggy sweats, no makeup, and a messy ponytail. _Definitely _not how she wanted Brody to see her. "I've...just had a stressful couple of days."

"Didn't you go visit Sam and your friends back home for the weekend?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, but we got into a fight. I really don't wanna dive into it."

He walked past her and sat on the couch. "Well all right then, we won't talk about it. Come on and sit down, let's catch up. I know that we _barely _have much time to talk during dance class and I've been so busy with work, I don't think we've had any real conversations since our Christmas party."

She sat down next to him and tried to smooth out her sweatshirt. "Sorry, I must look like a wreck."

He chuckled. "Nah, I think you still look positively radiant. Where's your roomies?"

"Work." She replied simply. "And I think they're still a bit mad at me because of the fight. Everything's stressing me out!"

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "All right, Rach, you need to calm down and relax. I have something that I think will help." He got off the couch and fetched whatever was in the paper bag on the table. When he returned, she saw that he was carrying a bottle of red wine.

She swallowed nervously. "_Wine_...that's...lovely, Brody. But you know I don't drink."

Brody laughed. "Rachel, it's wine, not vodka. Are you honestly saying you've _never _had wine before?"

She shrugged. "Well, I've had it at church a few times and holiday parties..."

He nodded and opened the bottle with a corkscrew that he pulled out of his pocket. "Then there we go! _Everyone _uses it to relax every once in a while." He offered her the bottle. "Come on, a few sips won't give you a buzz, I _promise."_

She stared at the bottle and reluctantly took a sip. It was cold, yet quite refreshing. She felt the aching burn in herself cool down a bit.

He smiled. "Good, isn't it?"

She nodded. "I actually like it."

He waved his hand at the bottle. "Go on, have as much as you'd like. But not _too _much, it's rude to pass out on your guests."

She examined the bottle and took another swig. "You know, I always imagined that when Sam moved in with us, we'd have intimate nights like these. Not gonna happen anymore, though."

"Why?" Brody asked. "Is that what you fought about?"

Rachel sighed and crossed her legs. "You betcha. The plan was that he moved here after graduation and become a super model while I became a _fabulous _Broadway star, but for some reason he changed his mind. Do you know what he wants to be now?" She offered him the wine bottle.

"What?" He asked taking a small sip.

She leaned over to him, really close to his face. "A _firefighter. _A FIREFIGHTER! Can you believe that?"

He shrugged. "Well the world is always in need of everyday heroes-"

She waved her hand and took another big swig. "The world has _plenty _of firefighters, and it's a dangerous job! Sam doesn't need to put himself in danger as an occupation, his face and his abs are too _perfect _to be messed up by a hot fire." She took a look into the bottle and frowned. "Oh poo, the wine's almost gone. Are you sure you don't want anymore?"

He shook his head and tipped the bottle into her mouth. "By all means, have as much as you want. Finish it, might as well."

She swallowed and started giggling again. Her mind was beginning to get fuzzy and her speech slurred. "I know you told me just to have a little bit, but I do believe that I am already _completely _wasted."

Brody laughed and put his arm around her. "Hey, at least you're more relaxed than before. At least now I know how to get you to calm down. Are you almost done with the bottle?"

She peered into it again. "Um...I'm not really sure. The liquid is all going swish...swish..."

After a few more sips, the bottle was empty and Rachel was _definitely _drunk. Her mind was completely fuzzy, her speech sounded like a preschooler, and she didn't even know who she was talking to anymore, but she knew that all she was complaining about what Sam.

"Honestly, Sam just doesn't appreciate our _art, _he doesn't understand our tastes! Get this: he thought _Cabaret _was about a taxi cab convention."

Brody mock-gasped. "He didn't!"

She nodded and continued. "He thought _The King and I _was about Elvis, _Sweet Charity _was about a charity organization that made candy, and _Damn Yankees _is about baseball!"

"It _is _about baseball." Brody replied.

She glared at him. "Hey, whose side are you on?" She looked inside the bottle again and pouted. "The wine's gone. Why is the wine always gone?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure."

She stood up and stretched, raising the bottle in the air. "Well yo ho, yo yo, a pirate's life for me. Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!"

Brody grabbed the bottle from her and made her sit down. "All righty, I think that's enough wine for you. Man, you must be _so _oblivious right now."

She shook her head. "No way, Jose, I'm just getting started! Seriously, _why _can't he understand that I need my leading man by my side if I want to be a great Broadway star, huh? Why does he _always _have to be the hero?"

When she heard no reply, she looked over and saw Brody sitting on the far end on the couch looking down sadly. "Did I say something wrong?"

He looked up at her. "No...you didn't. It's just that..I hate to admit it, but I'm actually jealous of you and Sam."

She blinked incredulously. "Really? Why are you jealous?"

"Remember that girlfriend I mentioned that I broke up with six weeks after I started at NYADA?" He asked. "Well...she was my first and _only _love. We were exactly like how you and Sam are: completely infatuated with each other, can't take your eyes off one another, you argue. After we broke up, it hurt for a while, but I figured that I would bounce back easy because hey, I live in _New York_. I've been _trying _all this time to find a girl to love and to hold and to disagree with, but I'm not making any progress. I'm one of the most handsome upperclassmen at this school and girls fall at my feet, but they only like me for my _looks_. They don't want someone to hold them, they just want some eye candy on their arm to bump up their reputation. That's just how it is, and I'm sick how how the hierarchy of things work at this school."

Rachel listened intently as he spoke, feeling how hurt and longing he was. It must have been all the alcohol, but suddenly she felt a slight stirring in her lower area followed by an aching in her heart.

He took her hands in his and squeezed them tightly. "Just _once, _I'd like to find someone as amazing as you. Everything _about _you is what I want: kindness, lovable, quirky, ambitious..._kissable_..." As he spoke, she noticed that he began to lean closer to her.

So many thoughts were running through her head and just by looking at him, she didn't know whether to hold his hand and just plain out kiss him. She knew it would be wrong to...but something was also telling her that it would be okay.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "Sam wouldn't like it."

Their faces were literally inches apart, so close that she felt the warmness of his breath. "Sam doesn't have to know." He whispered.

Finally, their lips touched and Rachel's mind literally exploded. She knew that she shouldn't be doing it, but for some reason all her anger at Sam just suddenly melted away. Brody was also kissing pretty firmly, so he wasn't intent on pulling away.

When they finally came up for air, Rachel's head began to spin and she felt dizzy. All the wine was preventing her from thinking straight, so it really didn't matter _what _she did.

She slowly stood up and began to lead him to her bedroom. But before her mind went completely blank, she felt her entire self relax. All the angst and pain she felt melted into bliss.

**CUT!**

**That's a wrap for this scene everyone. DUN, DUN, DUN!**

**I'll get to working on the next chapters as soon as I can, so enjoy this chapter for now.**

**See ya, everyone!**


	15. Rip His Heart Out

**Next chapter, here we go!**

Rachel woke the next morning to the sun streaming in through the window onto her face. She shielded her face, silently cursing at herself for using the curtains to separate the rooms instead of the windows. As she raised her arm, she suddenly felt a cold draft in the air, so she rolled over to pull the covers over her. When she did, a sharp pain instantly hit her brain like a needle and she actually saw stars.

Her curtain was pulled back and Santana and Kurt appeared, both wearing their respective work uniforms. Kurt walked over to the bed and shook her awake.

"Good morning, beautiful. Hope you're still not mad at us."

Santana yawned. "Sorry we've been gone all night, chicka. We didn't expect to work the night shifts at the restaurant and the club, but I am _beat_."

Kurt kissed her on the forehead. "We're sorry about our fight, we'll talk later if you want."

As they turned to leave, Rachel sat up while ignoring the sharp pain in her head or the coldness all around her. "I'm not mad anymore."

They turned to her, but both their jaws dropped. Kurt blushed and covered his face.

Santana snickered. "Ay dios mijo, Rachel. Was it too hot in the apartment last night? Because you know, you _could _have turned on the air conditioning."

Rachel stared at her puzzled. "What on Earth are you talking about, Santana?"

Kurt continued to blush. "I seriously can't believe you're not acknowledging this right now, you're _naked_, Rachel!"

She looked down and yes...she was naked. Her clothes were strewn all over the floor and her bed sheets were rumpled. She squeaked and covered herself with the bed sheets. "Um..."

Kurt waved his hands. "We don't need to hear any explanations, we're going to bed. We...probably should have prepared ourselves for something like this when we arranged to live together."

Santana burst out laughing and led him out of the room. "Come on, Kurt, you're _gay_. Why are you embarrassed?"

When they disappeared, she leaped up to frantically get dressed. Who in their right mind woke up _naked_? The splintering pain in her head and the dizziness didn't help. Eventually when she got her sweats on, she collapsed onto the bed and came eye-to-eye with something shiny and gold on the bed. She held it up to her face to see what it was, but suddenly squealed and dropped it.

It was a condom wrapper. And it was empty.

Her eyes widened and she strained her mind to remember how on Earth an empty condom wrapper got into her room. What happened last night?

She remembered glaring at the TV after Santana and Kurt left for work. Then Brody came over. They talked...and then...they _kissed_. After that...everything went blank. But suddenly, she felt a heaviness in her chest and her heart felt like it was breaking.

She kissed Brody. She woke up naked and found an empty condom wrapper on her bed.

_She had cheated on Sam._

_**A Few Hours Later**_

Santana and Kurt woke from their nap and met up in the living room. They both noticed that Rachel hadn't stirred from her bedroom at all so they walked up to her curtain.

"Rachel, honey?" Kurt called out. "Have you been sleeping too? We haven't heard any noise from you all day, don't tell me you're still mad at us."

When there was no answer, Santana crossed her arms. "Berry, right now we're respecting your privacy but you _better _make some noise or something. I don't care if you're still naked, but you better be at least dead to not be making any noise."

When there still was no answer, they both looked at each other and exchanged nervous glances.

"Do you think she went out?" She asked.

Kurt shook his head. "I don't think so, her boots are still by the door." He called again. "Rachel, we're coming in to see if you went out." He pushed back the curtain. "Come on, honey, you've been really quiet, what-"

He suddenly stopped talking when they both saw Rachel curled up in a ball rocking back and forth on the floor, heavy tears streaming down her face.

He raced to her. "Rachel, what happened? What's wrong?" She continued to cry, so he hugged her tightly. "It's okay, it's okay. Calm down and tell us what happened?"

Santana raised an eyebrow. "Are you on your period? Damn, and I thought _my _mood swings were bad."

Rachel shook her head and opened her mouth. A single word came out in a harsh whisper. _"Sam."_

Kurt rubbed her back soothingly. "Aw, honey. Did you and Sam get into another fight?"

She bit her lip. "No...it's not that."

Santana sighed frustrated. "Then spit it out, Berry, before my eggs freeze."

Rachel let out a choked sob. "I did something so _stupid _last night! I should have known better but I was just so _mad!_"

Kurt nodded. "Go on and tell us, sweetie. We'll help you no matter _what_ you did, we love you."

She nodded and let out a deep breath. "I think I cheated on Sam."

He furrowed his eyebrow. "Come again?"

She looked up at him, her eyes beginning to water again. "I think I cheated on Sam...with Brody."

Kurt clapped his hand to his mouth while Santana's jaw dropped.

"You had _sex _with that psycho!?"

"Rachel, how _could _you?" Kurt asked, outraged.

She glared at him. "I don't know what I was thinking! I was just so _mad _at Sam, that it just got out of control, and-"

Santana waved her hands. "Hold on, hold on. Start from the beginning and we'll work from there because I don't believe you would be that stupid, Rachel."

Rachel wiped her eyes and looked down at her knees again. "Well...a little while after you left for work, Brody came over to check in and see how I was doing. We talked for a bit but then our conversation got a bit...sentimental. He let me vent about my fight with Sam but then he started saying how he was jealous of our relationship and how he wanted to find a girl like me and then we just...kissed."

Kurt put his head in his hands. "Rachel, how could you be so foolish."

"But the thing is," she replied. "I don't remember what happened afterwards."

Santana tiled her head confused. "So...you don't think you had sex with him?"

She shrugged. "I don't _know_, okay?" She snapped. "After we kissed, I felt like everything just blanked out. I don't remember what happened afterwards, I just remember waking up naked and Brody was gone."

"Well then how do you know you had sex with him?" Kurt inquired.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the condom wrapper. "I woke up naked. And I found _this _on the bed."

His face paled as he took the wrapper. "W-w-well maybe...he _dropped _it?"

She swatted his arm. "And how do you explain me waking up naked, huh?"

He looked at her, and then the wrapper and sighed. "Look, I'm just _trying _to convince myself that you wouldn't be that stupid to sleep with him and cheat on Sam. It's not like you! I mean...sure, you did the same thing with Puck to get back at Finn a few years ago, but...this I'm sure is different." He looked up at Santana. "Maybe we should ask Brody for an explanation since Rachel obviously doesn't know."

Santana shook her head violently. "Kurt, are you _that _dumb? We can't just simply waltz up to Brody and ask him _Hey Brody, Rachel thinks she slept with you but for some reason she can't remember. Is that true? _Whatever happened may or may not have happened, but right now we need to focus on Rachel thinking she cheated on Sam." She knelt down next to Rachel and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out. If you didn't sleep with him, then great. But if you did, we'll work it out."

Rachel picked up her phone off the floor. "I need to tell Sam. I was so stupid, I shouldn't have done it."

Kurt reached out and swiped it out of her hands. "Why on Earth would you want to tell Sam that you cheated on him? That would be throwing away _everything _you ever did for each other!"

She glared at him. "Oh what, you want me to just _lie _to him? You think if Blaine never told you he cheated on you, you both would still be together, huh?"

His face paled. "I thought we wouldn't talk about that."

She sighed and grabbed her phone back. "I _have _to be honest with him. If he dumps me, then so be it, but I can't lie to Sam. I shouldn't have done it, though...I was just so _mad_."

Santana reached out and started stroking her hair. "Rachel...it was just a mistake. Sometimes people let their emotions get the best of their actions, it happens. Yes, you may have cheated and _yes_, you're sorry for it. But _first _we need to get to the bottom of it before we jump to conclusions. We'll see what Brody has to say about it, but give it a bit of time before telling Sam anything...because if it turns out you had the wrong idea, the damage will already be done. But I _promise_, no matter what happened, this isn't the end of the world."

Rachel pulled her knees up to her chest again. "Why would you help me? I'm a cheater...a harlot. I love Sam so much and I betrayed him all because I was mad that he didn't want to come to New York. I don't deserve him...he doesn't deserve what I did to him. I'm so ashamed."

Santana sighed and pat her head. "Come on, let's just eat dinner and you can sleep it off. Kurt and I will cook, just get yourself cleaned up." She gave her a small kiss on the forehead. "Come on Kurt, let's make dinner."

About an hour later, dinner was made. Rachel was able to get herself cleaned up and she sat with them eating her pasta silently. After dinner, she sat on the couch watching TV while Santana and Kurt washed the dishes.

When Santana walked up to the trash bin to scrape the leftovers off a plate, she noticed something inside so she reached in and grabbed for it. It was a wine bottle...red to be exact. Eying it suspiciously, she called over to Kurt who was washing dishes. "Hey Kurt, come over here a second."

Kurt dried his hands and walked over to her. "What is it?"

She held the bottle out to him. "I found this in the trash bin. We haven't had bottles like this in the apartment since Christmas, so it must be recent."

He shrugged. "Well, it's not mine. Is it yours?"

She shook her head. "I swore off comfort drinking a long time ago, it ain't mine."

He glanced nervously at Rachel on the couch. "Do you think it's _Rachel_'s?"

She snickered. "I wouldn't bet on it. After that one and only encounter with alcohol at her party a few years ago, she avoids it like the plague, it can't be hers."

He nudged her. "Ask her, though. Maybe it has something to do with what happened last night."

She nodded and called out. "Hey Rachel...come here a minute."

Rachel got off the couch and started making her way to them, but suddenly froze when she saw the bottle.

Santana frowned and held it out to her. "Do you know anything about this?"

Rachel took the bottle, looked at it, and began to tear up again. "I'm so sorry..." she whispered. "I shouldn't have."

Santana chuckled. "Rachel, _everyone _drinks a little to relax sometimes, it's okay."

Rachel looked up with a horrified look on her face. "Relax...it's okay. Brody said the same thing."

Suddenly, Santana stopped laughing and looked at her concerned. "Wait, Brody? So it's _his _bottle?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, he brought it over but _I _was the one who drank out of it."

Kurt reached out and took the bottle from her. "But Rachel, you don't _drink_. Ever since that party at your house-"

She shook her head violently. "He _told _me it would help me relax. He _told _me that a few sips wouldn't do anything. He egged me on to finish the whole bottle, he even took the time to _force _me..."

Santana cut her off. "Wait, wait...Brody _forced _you to drink the wine?"

Rachel nodded sadly. "Yeah. After a few sips, I was starting to feel it kick in and I knew I had to stop. But every time I stopped, he kept tipping the bottle into my mouth and made me down it. I couldn't stop him, I was so drunk already! You see, _that's _how stupid of a person I am because I was mad: I get drunk and then I sleep with other people!"

She completely broke down again, so Kurt pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. Santana however, slammed the bottle on the counter furiously.

"That's it, I am _so _gonna kill him!"

Rachel looked at her and sniffed. "Why?"

Santana turned to her, wearing an harsh glare. "It's one thing to willingly let yourself get drunk and have wild sex with someone. It's another thing to manipulate someone to drinking _and _forcing them to down the bottle. It's all pretty clear now, Brody _drugged _you, Rachel. _And _he took advantage of having sex with you! And _that's _why I'm gonna kill that psycho, because _no one _takes advantage of my friends like that."

Kurt looked down at Rachel who was still sobbing. "I really don't think violence is what we need right now, Santana."

She picked up the bottle and thrust it in his face. "Kurt, wake up and smell the coffee! Rachel is a wreck now because of that bullshit Ken doll-wannabe and I can't put up with him any longer. I just _knew _something was fishy about him since the moment we met." She looked at Rachel again. "Don't you worry, Rachel. He won't get away with this, and I _promise _we won't let it affect your relationship with Sam. No matter what it takes, we'll figure this out."

Rachel nodded and wiped her face. "I believe you."

_**Later**_

Rachel was put to bed by Kurt, obviously exhausted from all the crying. All the while, Santana sat on the armchair thinking of as many inhumane ways to get back at Brody. _No one _and she meant _**NO ONE**_ messed with her friends and got away with it.

Finally, Kurt came out of Rachel's room and wiped his forehead. "She's asleep now." He noticed Santana sitting in her chair wearing a stone cold bitch resting face. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna track down that asshole and rip his heart out." She seethed. "He drugged her and took advantage of her, he is _finished_."

Kurt sighed and sat across from her. "I hear you, he shouldn't have done it. But if you think about it, this all wouldn't have happened if Rachel hadn't gotten into that fight with Sam about his decision not to come here."

She glared at him. "Whose side are you on? Even _you _saw how sketchy he was and made sure she was never alone with him. Even if she _was _single and into him, he still would have done the same thing. I don't care if we're in New York and things are different, guys like him are _all the same_."

Kurt rubbed his face exasperated. "So what are you going to do, mess him up?"

She shook her head. "No. First, I'm gonna get the truth out of him about what happened. What we know is that he came over, made Rachel drink a bottle of wine until she was totally out of it, they kissed, and the next day she woke up naked with an empty condom wrapper on the bed. First off, he shouldn't have given her the wine, she's still underage. Second, he shouldn't have been pursuing her while knowing she was in a relationship. How much you wanna bet he doesn't want anything to do with her after all this? Rachel's my friend...sure, she drives me insane sometimes, but I _always _back my friends up."

Kurt nodded and stood up. "Well whatever you do...don't be _too _rash. We don't wanna see you being led to the back of a cop car."

She laughed. "Don't worry about me. Just go on off to bed."

She watched him walk off to his room and gave him a small wave before he disappeared behind his curtain. Before she switched off the light and went to bed herself, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"_Hey, Santana. What's up?"_

"Sam...I need to talk to you, it's a bout Rachel. How soon can you get to New York?"

**DUN DUN DUN!**

**Santana to the rescue! Plot twist!**

**The next chapter's gonna be Santana confronting Brody, and it's gonna be GOOD. And Sam's gonna be involved somewhere in the mix.**

**Now I know you're all probably getting annoyed with Rachel and Sam going back and forth to see each other, but I had the timeline mapped out. Rachel flew to Ohio for Thanksgiving, Sam flew to New York for Christmas. He had his talk with Ms. Pillsbury and Coach Beiste say around...mid-January. His talk about Firefighter School with Penny took place around late March and the gun incident happened around mid-April (Regionals already happened...at least in this story it did) so when Sam comes back to New York AGAIN, he'll be on spring break. So yeah, it's all starting to make sense now.**

**As we start to get to the conclusion, Rachel is also gonna have to make some _BIG_ decisions about her and Sam's relationship. No spoiler, but if you wanna guess, I'll give a shoutout to the users who guess the right answer when I put that chapter up.**

**And that's the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoy it, leave a review PLEEEEEAAAASSSEE!**

**Bye, everyone!**


	16. Brody's Cruel Intentions

**Hello everyone! Welcome back to another yet exciting chapter of the story! This one's gonna be another good one, so fasten your seatbelts.**

**Ok, ok. Someone pointed out in the last chapter that supposedly there was a date rape involved. I'm not confirming or denying or even making a joke about rape. But I'm gonna splash a bit of _"Cruel Intentions_" into the mix. You'll sort of see what I mean.**

****Actors, PLACES!****

****Quiet on set!  
>First positions<br>Here we go.  
>Rolling<br>Speed  
>Slate in.<strong>**

****Action!****

Santana adjusted her outfit one last time before pushing past the doors of the NYADA dance studio. In the room, there was already a well-fit blonde woman doing splits in the middle of the room. She assumed that it was Rachel's bitchy dance teacher Miss July that she always complained about, so she knew that this wasn't someone to be nice to.

Miss July looked up at her with pure disdain. "Can I help you?"

Santana advanced toward her, not menacingly, but with enough attitude to sow that she meant business. "Yeah, I'm looking for Brody Weston."

Miss July raised an eyebrow. "And _why _would I just give out information about that?"

"Because he's the T.A of your dance class, and I'm sure you keep tabs on all your favorite whereabouts like a Marauder's Map, so where is he?" Santana replied scornfully.

Miss July scoffed and turned her back to her. "I don't care if you're a student here or not, I don't have to answer to you. Now scram."

Santana took a few steps closer, her heels stomping on the floor loudly and spun her around. "Look, lady, I wouldn't be storming in here asking _you _of all people where he is if I didn't have some serious beef with him. And I'm not a student here, so you can't _expel _me or even have the guts to have my ass escorted off the property, so I'm _not _afraid to not be nice if I have to."

Miss July stood up and shot her an icy cold glare. "And just _who _do you think you are?"

Santana stared back at her menacingly. "Doesn't matter, but I can be your worse nightmare if it comes to that. So I'm gonna ask you _one _last time." She inced her face closer to hers. "_Where _is Brody?"

After a few seconds of staring at each other, Miss July broke out into a sly grin. "You know what? I like you. You don't look like someone who takes shit from anyone and _no one _I know other than me would have the guts to burst into this room and stare me down like this. All right, I'll tell you. He's in Studio B." She turned her heel and strode to the other side of the room.

Santana gazed at her confused. "Studio B? This isn't the only studio?"

Miss July turned back to her. "Oh, sweetie, no. This is a prestigious New York performing arts college with population _a lot_. I'm not the only dance teacher here. But if I _was _and had to _deal _with population a lot in once single dance studio, I'd have to force myself to get wasted everynight to rid myself of the day's work of watching sloppy, sluggish amateurs. The studio is in the room right next door, now beat it." And with that, she resumed her stretches.

Santana exited the studio and walked over to the one next door which looked absolutely no different from the first one. The only difference was that Brody was in this one practicing some random boyband moves in front of the mirror. She stormed in and slammed the door behind her.

"All right, you Backstreet Boy Wannabe, you're finished."

He turned to her confused. "I'm sorry, what? What do _you _want, Santana?"

She crossed her arms and began walking to him. "Okay, here's what's gonna happen. After this little confrontation, you are gonna disappear from our lives, from _Rachel's _life. Don't even say a word, just disappear."

He rolled his eyes. "And how on Earth would I do that if I'm the TA for her dance class?"

"I may not have control over that," She began. "but you stay out of her personal life. No more taking midnight trains from Georgia to our apartment, no more after school rendezvous, and _especially _no more holiday overnights with that lame excuse that you have nowhere to go."

He glared at her. "And...you have position to make decisions without Rachel's consent...how?"

She shrugged. "I'm a hardcore friend. Rachel and Kurt are my family, so whatever happens to them that involves _you_, involves me."

He scoffed and picked up a towel to wipe his sweaty forehead. "Is this honestly all you're good for, constant babbling? Because I honestly have _no _idea what you are talking about."

"Oh really?" She reached into her bag and pulled out the wine bottle. "Can you explain how _this _got into our apartment trash? I found it recently, so there is _no way _it's been sitting in there since Christmas."

He looked at the bottle nonchalantly. "Maybe it belongs to Rachel and Kurt. Maybe it belongs to _you_."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't think so. Our little trio have a strict _no alcohol _policy in our house and even though it kills me, I still abide by it. Plus, it coincides with the fact that one day, Rachel woke up absolutely _naked_, unaware of how...with an empty condom wrapper on the bed. She recalls you stopping by the house the night before."

He shrugged. "So I did."

She thrust the bottle in his face. "It's _your _bottle, you shithead! _You _brought it to the house!"

He pushed the bottle out of the way and glared at her fiercely. "Yeah, but I _barely _drank out of it! Rachel did!"

Santana frowned. "Rachel got drunk years ago, and she vowed _never _to let it happen again, so now she's a complete prude when it comes to alcohol. She also recalls you pressuring her to take a few swigs and even tipping the bottle into her mouth when she resisted. Which led to a kiss, which led to the bedroom, which led to you dropping _this_-" She reached into her pocket and pulled out the condom wrapper. "-which led to you _sleeping _with her while she was under the influence which led her to be a complete wreck about cheating on Sam!"

Brody stared at her blankly while she finished her monologue, but then smiled cheekily. "So I did. You figured it out."

Her jaw dropped open in shock. "Wait...so it's _true_?"

He nodded and laughed a cold laugh that didn't suit him. "It was _so _easy to get her wasted like that. All I had to do was promise that a few swigs wouldn't mess with her, but fortunately it _did_. She was completely out of it, it was too funny. So yes...I gave her a kiss which led to the bedroom which led to me _finally _getting what I wanted." He slung his towel over his shoulder and crossed his arms.

She blinked, unable to believe what she just heard. "But...why?"

He shrugged. "It's my preference. I usually have girls eating out of the palm of my hands the _minute _I meet them. Girls with attitude...love em'. Girls with boyfriends...even better. And Rachel was just a challenging conquest."

Santana froze in her spot. "Conquest?" She whispered.

He nodded. "Yup. Single girls are so _easy _to bed. Taken girls are harder...always contemplating _not being faithful _to him and yada yada. Rachel was the _ultimate _challenge, she wouldn't put up with my crap. Heck, it took almost a _year _to snag her. And when I saw Sam...I definitely saw how much of a competition I had so I tried harder. Eventually, I just decided to change my plans and just make her unfaithful _and _crazy, so I got her drunk, took what I wanted and left in the morning so that way when she woke up, she'd have a _feeling _that she cheated but not remember if she actually _did_. Although I _probably _forgot to get rid of the evidence."

Santana smirked and held up the bottle again. "Yeah, I think so."

"Well next time you see them, tell Sam that I'm _very _disappointed." He replied smug. "He told me at the Christmas party that he and Rachel have hot, wild, nasty sex...but all I got from her was sloppy and a bit of crying." He sighed. "That's what happens when I mess with someone's sloppy seconds."

She snarled and walked up to him, giving him a sharp slap on the face. "Don't you _dare _call Rachel Sam's sloppy seconds!" She exclaimed tearfully. "She deserves better than what you did to her!"

He gazed at her while ignoring the sting on his cheek. "And what are _you _gonna do about it? You came here to get a confession out of me, but where's your proof?"

She reached into her shirt and pulled out a tape recorder, which was obviously taping the whole conversation. "I got everything I need _right _here."

He saw the tape recorder and his eyes widened. "Was that recording the whole time?"

She nodded and waved it in front of his face. "I have _everything _I need from you. Your confession, _and _about your job as a male gigolo."

He gulped. "How'd you find out about that?"

She shrugged and laughed viciously. "Easy. One of the girls at the club I work as it a nymphomaniac and she happens to have a bit of money, so I set her up with you and sent my tape recorder." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "She was the cheerleader with a stutter."

Brody frowned at her and reached out to grab the tape recorder but she held it away from him. "You know, I can have that destroyed before you leave this room."

She nodded coy. "You know, you're right, you can. But I _always _make sure I have backups, so along with a tape recorder, I even have witnesses."

He scoffed and started to the door. "Yeah right, we're the only ones in this room and NYADA doesn't have any security cameras."

She called out to him as he walked away. "That may be so, but before you walk out, I must tell you that behind that door are two important people you have some explaining to do to."

When he reached out to turn the door handle, the door of the studio opened and two people appeared. One was a timid looking Rachel...behind her trailed in a furious looking Sam.

Brody stepped back as they advanced on him, looking utterly shocked. "Whoa...were you two listening?"

Rachel nodded. "Every word, Brody. What do you have to say for yourself after taking advantage of me?"

He looked from Rachel to Sam and suddenly, he smirked again. "You all are _too _easy, all three of you." When he saw all three of them looking at him confused, he clapped his hands together. "Do you know how _easy _it was manipulating you all to escalate to this?"

"What do you mean, Brody?" Rachel asked timidly.

Brody laughed. "You naïve, stupid little girl. I had this all planned from the start."

Sam walked around Rachel and balled his fist. "Shut your mouth about Rachel. After we're through with you, you are _never _gonna come near her again."

Brody took a step back and wagged his finger at him. "Ah, ah Sam. You wouldn't want to cause any damage before you get all the facts straight." He looked at Santana. "To answer any direct questions, _no _I didn't rape Rachel. I had this all planned from the beginning. When we first met, I figured she was gonna be an easy conquest. She was alone, grasping for a companion...and I happened to be there to help her adjust. It was no surprise when she mentioned Sam...she was in college in New York, _no one _stayed with their high school sweetheart back home. I knew that there was gonna be a little tension about their distance, so I decided to stir the fire a bit by planting the truth about long-distance relationships in her head. Then I convinced her to change her look which she _did_. Next, I _wanted _her for myself so _that _became my task: to tear apart her relationship. But she was a tough shell, so the only way to do that was to get up and close. I became her best friend when no one was around. When Kurt was at work, I was her at the apartment watching movies and laughing with her. And then Santana came." He narrowed her eyes at her. "_You_, you conniving little weasel. You almost ruined my plan, you would almost _never _leave me alone with her anymore, I almost gave up!" He turned to Sam. "And then I met Sam in the flesh. By then, my assumptions grew. Rachel glorified him, saying how _sweet_, and _sexy_, and _wonderful _he was and how you both were gonna be so happy when he moved to New York and became a model. But I observed him as he stayed and I noticed that the whole moving to a big city was a lot of bullshit. Football team...vice president...swim team...you think those become _models_? God, Rachel, you're beyond stupid."

Sam grabbed Rachel's hand tightly as she bit her lip trying not to cry.

Brody continued. "They stay _local _boys. I saw a bit of intimidation and uncertainty in his face whenever she brought it up, and I also saw that my presence threatened him, so I decided to make myself more threatening by showing my closeness with Rachel. I could see your jealousy, Sam, and it amused me to toy around with you. After Christmas, I stayed low and waited in the shadows patiently until I was called upon, which I was several nights ago. When I heard she was back from her visit, I had a feeling by then that the fight about Sam's future whereabouts would have taken place and the state of their relationship would be strained, which would be my _perfect _opportunity to make my move so I brought the wine bottle. And let me tell you, it is REAL easy to get her to finish that bottle. She was very hesitant, but I can be _very _assertive. And _man_, can she down a bottle when she's already going."

Rachel felt Sam squeeze her hand tighter like her stomach clenching. She looked down guiltily has she visioned herself drinking a whole bottle of wine by herself and allowing to get intoxicated.

Brody sighed. "But alas, Rachel is a classified weepy drunk. She vented some more about how no one was on her side and how she believed her relationship to be doomed, so I played my ace. My card to earn her sympathy, and it worked. In return, I received a kiss. Sure, it was from an intoxicated and weepy Rachel Berry, but I knew she was cracking. Her drunk instincts must have kicked in so she led me to her bedroom and I could feel myself absolutely _thrilled _that I was going to finally have my way with her."

"But..." Rachel timidly whispered. "You said you didn't rape me."

He nodded slowly. "I didn't. Right when we got to the bedroom, you clumsily tried to undress yourself but wound up passing out on the bed...but not before vomiting all over your outfit." He wrinkled his nose with disgust. "Your performance then became a _huge _turn off. If there's any kind of sex I hate most, it's _sloppy wet_ sex. And Somnophilia isn't really my bag either, so I changed my mind and decided to leave you there. But right when I was about to leave, I thought to myself: I don't exactly _have _to sleep with her to destroy her relationship with Sam. What if I made her _think _I did? Your guilt would consume you, you'd go running your mouth to Sam who would dump you and leave you a hot mess. So I undressed you, tucked you into bed, and strategically placed one of my empty condom wrappers on the bed where I knew you'd see it in the morning. And now look, my plan worked...sort of." He turned to Santana. "But you, Miss meddlesome ruined my fun again by getting Sam involved in your Scooby Doo investigation. Now that you know the truth, everything on your little tape recorder is irrelevant. I can be arrested for date rape, but I can't be arrested for manipulation and sabotage.

He strode over to Rachel. "You can get yourself checked out at a gynecologist, you'll see we _clearly _haven't had sex. After your sloppy drunk performance, I wouldn't even touch you with a five-foot pole." He glanced over at Sam and said distastefully. "You can have your sloppy seconds back. The game's over."

All three of them stared at him silently trying to process everything he said. So Brody had _everything _planned all along...and now everyone was left utter confused.

Brody noticed the awkwardness and laughed. "You still don't get it, do you? Rachel...you and Sam are _still _gonna break up regardless of me sleeping with you or not. Santana, you're still gonna be a bitch, but I've outsmarted you. And Sam...well...you can have the nun. And _I'm _going to walk out of here scott-free. All three of you are like toys I like to play with, but I've outgrown you."

He began walking toward the door, but Santana beat him to it, blocking it.

She glanced over at Rachel. "Honey, go back outside with Kurt, he'll take you back to the apartment." She turned back to Brody. "We'll take care of him."

Rachel uncertainly glanced at Santana and turned to Sam. "All right, but _please _be careful."

"Rachel, go." Sam said without looking at her. "I don't want you to see this."

She gave a meek squeal and exited the room to join Kurt outside.

When the door closed, Santana and Sam faced Brody fiercely, who just stared back at them angrily.

Sam continued to glare at him. "Don't worry, when we're finished, you won't even feel a thing."

Santana smiled sweetly. "Class is in session, Brody Weston. You may think you won, but there will _always _be consequences. And now it's time for you to learn a lesson on what happens when you mess with people like us."

**And cut!**

**By the way, somnophilia is a fetish for sleeping people. At least...that's what Wikipedia said. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. **

**Enjoy the chapter! Meanwhile, I'll start working on the next one. Ta-ta, buddies!**


	17. I Wanna Feel What Love Is

_**Later**_

Rachel continued to pace back and forth as she anxiously awaited Santana and Sam's return. It had been about four hours since she left them at NYADA, and neither of them had touched base back to them to tell what happened. After they left the college, Kurt took Rachel to the nearest clinic to have her checked out under the guise of her not remembering if she had sex with Sam or not because of bad memory. However, the results were false, she hadn't been touched.

Kurt was sitting on the couch working on his laptop when he noticed her pacing. "Sweetheart, _please _stop pacing. You're starting to make me dizzy."

She turned to him and huffed impatiently. "Kurt, it's been _hours _since we left them! What if they've been seriously hurt?"

He snickered. "Santana and Sam put together, you better be worried about the _other _guy."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Kurt went to open it revealing a disheveled Santana and Sam. Her hair was a mess, and Sam definitely had what looked like a lack eye beginning to form.

She strode into the kitchen and began digging through the medicine cabinet. "Do we have any Advil or something?" She nodded to Sam who limped in. "Berry, go tend to his wounds, I am beat."

Rachel grabbed a hold of Sam and led him to the couch. Kurt made a makeshift ice pack and handed it to her. "Where does it hurt?" She asked him.

He stared at her, as if silently sending her a message as to where it hurt. She guessed all over, so she nodded and placed the ice pack on his shoulder. Then she scurried into the kitchen to make some more.

Kurt handed Santana a glass of water to wash down her pills. "Well...there's good news. I took Rachel to get checked out and it turns out, Brody wasn't lying when he said he didn't touch her."

Santana gulped down her pill and rolled her eyes. "He lied about everything else, and _that's _why we messed him up."

Rachel's eyes widened as she gazed up at her. "How bad did you hurt him?"

She took another sip of water and grinned. "We roughed him up a bit, but he'll live. In fact, he probably won't even remember when he wakes up."

"How can you be so sure?" Kurt asked raising an eyebrow.

Santana walked over and sat on the couch. "Growing up, I've gotten into a _lot _of my share of fights, some of them I'm not too proud of. And the more fights I got into, the more I learned about what parts of the body hurts. I also found nerves that can knock you out, and a nerve that can actually affect memory if struck right. I struck that nerve, and bam, he's down. But boy, can he sure _fight!_" She shook her head bluntly. "He did some Muy Thai shit or something like that. But he'll be fine." She noticed Rachel and Sam staring at each other blankly, and slowly stood up. "All right, I'll leave you two alone to talk. Kurt, help me to the bathroom, and I'm gonna need you to stand by the door while I pee in case I pass out."

Rachel continued to tend to Sam's wounds. She held her breath as she continued to examine his injuries: bruised knuckles, beginning of a black eye, bruises on his arm. "Are you hurt bad?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, I've taken worse during football. I'll be fine."

She nodded and ran her finger over his bruised knuckle, making him suddenly clench his fists. She quickly picked up his hand and placed a small kiss on them. "He hurt you." She whispered softly.

"Not as bad as he tried to tried to hurt us. And certainly not as bad as I hurt _him_." He replied which made her laugh.

As she fixed him up, he noticed that she suddenly got quiet again. "Are you ok?"

She shrugged. "Yeah...it's just...I'm still trying to process everything. I'm shocked that he had this all planned out all along...I was so stupid for letting him deceive me."

He reached out and lifted her chin with his finger. "He deceived _all _of us. But it's over now."

She nodded again and gazed up at him, though her eyes were conveying another message.

_Not quite..._

**SxR**

After dinner, Santana and Rachel cleaned up while Kurt and Sam watched TV. They joined them afterwards for a while until Rachel got up and declared that she was going to bed.

When she left, Sam went to the linen closet and pulled out a blanket and pillow. "Santana, I'm gonna need the couch again."

Santana's jaw dropped. "_What_!?" She hissed. "No way, I am absolutely _fed up _with sleeping with Kurt. He sings show-tunesin his sleep!"

Kurt feigned hurt. "Oh, so it's _my _fault I dream of being in productions of _Fiddler On the Roof, Company, _and _Les Miserables_?"

Santana frantically shook her head and grabbed the pillow and blanket out of Sam's arms. "No way, _I'm _sleeping on the couch tonight. Go sleep with Rachel and make love or something."

Sam shuffled his feet nervously. "Well the thing is...Rachel and I never really made up."

Kurt sighed exasperated. "You guys are _still _tense about the whole where-will-you-be-next-year topic? I mean, I know that like _every _couple winds up arguing about it, but honestly, you can't let this or even Brody's deception hurt you. You just need to keep working and working until you can come to a compromise. Believe me, she's been _real _bitter since we got back. Now go in there, and make up with her."

Sam sighed, knowing that he was right. It killed him knowing that Rachel's last visit ended in a sour note and all he wanted was to take her in his arms again. To hold her...kiss her...caress her...make love to her. However though, there was still the topic that they fought about that continued to haunt him because he _still _didn't know what he wanted. He could go to New York and become a model, making him _and _her happy...or he could go to community college and go to firefighter school, and just he himself would be happy. Why did everything have to be so _complicated_?

He decided to go her room, hoping that they could tie up any loose ends and come to a decision.

Pushing past the curtain, he saw her sitting on her bed in her nightgown. She looked up and instantly smiled, patting the bed space next to her.

"Sam! Are you sleeping here tonight?"

A big part of him wanted to run to her and take her in his arms, but the numbness he was feeling got the better oh him. "No, I actually just came to say good-night. I'm sleeping on the couch again."

Her smile fell. "Oh. All right. Well...goodnight then."

He turned to go, but suddenly heard her whisper. "I'm so sorry about all this."

He turned back to her and saw her head bowed, so he went over to the bed and sat down next to her. "Sorry about what?"

She looked up at him, her eyes glazed with tears. "_All _of this. This tension between us, Brody's deception-"

He cut her off. "Rach, we already discussed that what Brody did wasn't your fault."

She nodded. "I know, but I was the one who started it all! I shouldn't have gotten mad when you told me your future options, I shouldn't have let myself get intoxicated. All that's happened is all because of me, I'm so sorry." She let the wave of sadness overcome her as she broke down and let the tears fall.

He turned away from her, feeling her guilt and frustration. "It's my fault too."

She turned to him tearfully. "What?"

He took her hand in his and kissed it. "It's my fault too. I shouldn't have tried to make a hasty decision, I should have brought it up calmly and we could have talked about it nicely. And I shouldn't have tossed your feelings aside. We should have compromised."

They continued to sit on the bed without looking at each other for a few minutes.

"I guess we don't know what true love really is." He said bluntly.

She sniffed. "True love is never perfect, you know. People argue and fight over the simplest things, even topics like this. But do you know what you want?"

He shook his head. "No...honestly, I don't. My options are still torn between staying in Ohio or coming to New York and...I really can't balance what I want with what seems more logical."

She bit her lip. "I guess we really don't know what true love is if we can't make decisions that make us happy."

He felt his heart breaking as he said those words,but he knew that she was right. He also had a small realization that he had to bring up before it was too late.

"Maybe...we should just take a break."

She gasped and turned to him again. "What?"

He gazed at her sadly. "We're at a crucial point in our relationship and we're focusing too much on trying to make _each _other happy. We also need time to focus on ourselves and what makes _us _happy as individuals."

"What are you saying?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer.

He sighed before replying. "I'm saying that we should just take a small break from each other, just for a little while. Just to focus on ourselves and get back on our feet. And in a little while...we can pick up where we left off."

She grabbed his hand tightly, even more tears falling down her cheeks. "Don't say that, Sam! We just _can't _take a break, what will I do without you?"

He yanked his hand back and held her out by the shoulders. "Are you telling me that you weren't even the _slightest _bit happy when you were on your own? When you went school, when you hung out Kurt and Santana...you weren't even a _little _happy?"

"I...just don't wanna lose you again." she whispered.

He pushed some loose hair out of her face. "Me either. But come on, Rachel, you were still a person even _before _I came into your life, right? Right now, we need to take a step back and discover what we want for ourselves."

"Well, what will we do?" She asked.

He began stroking her hair softly. "Here's what we'll do: when I get back to Lima, we'll focus on our individual lives. I'll focus on going to Nationals with the glee club and graduation, and you focus on what you want. Attend a show or audition, you like those things. And we won't have _any _contact with each other until graduation." He noticed her eyes widen and he began shaking his finger at her. "No calling, no texting, no emailing, no skyping, and certainly no communicating through the others. We need this, Rachel, it's the only way for us to understand each other." He sighed before concluding. "And at graduation, I'll make my decision."

Rachel gazed at him as he made his proposal. As much as she didn't want to, she knew that he was still right. She couldn't even remember the last time she was happy by herself instead of focusing solely on Sam. He was right...they needed to figure out what they wanted for themselves.

She sniffed again and wiped her face. "I understand, you're right. We need this. But we won't...fall for other people on our break, will we?"

He shook his head. "Not that I know of...unless you find yet _another _hunky New York guy that likes to pet you."

She giggled. "Not a chance, New York guys aren't really my scene anymore. I'm sure Santana and Kurt will make sure of that now."

He grinned and kissed her forehead. "That's my girl. Now get some rest, you've had a long day."

He got off the bed and left the room. Rachel instantly started hearing Santana immediately protesting for her right to the couch. She began screaming in Spanish, and led to an unlimited amount of creative threats. Eventually, Sam compromised by asking to sleep on the couch for _one _more night, and then he'd find another place to sleep, and it led to Santana grumbling and stomping into Kurt's room again.

After about an hour or two, everything started to quiet down. She heard Kurt bid Sam goodnight and make his way to his room. And another hour later, she heard the TV turn off.

**SxR**

Around two in the morning, Rachel was suddenly awakened by the sounds of a guitar playing softly from the living room. She slightly opened her curtain and saw Sam sitting on the couch strumming his guitar and humming. Eventually, he started singing.

_I gotta take a little time  
>A little time to think things over<br>I better read between the lines_

_In case I need it when I'm older _

_In my life there's been heartache and pain  
>I don't know if I can face it again<br>Can't stop now, I've traveled so far  
>To change this lonely life <em>

She suddenly heard herself singing softly along with him and she slowly started making her way toward him.

_I wanna know what love is__  
><em>_I want you to show me_

He looked up from his guitar at her and continued to gaze at her as she slowly approached the couch. 

_I wanna feel what love is  
>I know you can show me <em>

He smiled and continued to play as she got closer and closer.

_I'm gonna take a little time  
>A little time to look around me<em>

_I've got nowhere left to hide  
>It looks like love has finally found me <em>

By then, she had already reached the couch and sat down next to him, her gaze never leaving his for a second.

_In my life there's been heartache and pain  
>I don't know if I can face it again<br>I can't stop now, I've traveled so far  
>To change this lonely life <em>

They began singing the rest of the song together, both feeling an ache in their hearts and they put all the emotion into the song.

_(Let's talk about love)__  
><em>_I wanna know what love is_

_(__The love that you feel inside)__  
><em>_I want you to show me__  
><em>_  
><em>_(__And I'm feeling so much love)___

_I wanna feel what love is__  
><em>_(__No, you just cannot hide)___

_I know you can show me___

_Yeah___

_I wanna know what love is__  
>(<em>_Let's talk about love)__  
><em>

_I want you to show me_

_(I wanna feel it too I wanna feel it too)  
>I wanna feel what love is<em>

_(And I know, and I know, and I know, and I know, and I know) _

_I know you can show me_

After the song, he set his guitar down and grasped her hands. "What are you thinking?"

She gazed down at their entwined hands. "About the song...about what you said. Do you really think we don't know what true love is?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe? Obviously we're not making each other happy with the way we're going. I can tell the suspense of where I'm going after high school is killing you and my mind is going all over the place trying to figure it out. You made your choice, but mine is harder because I have to try and balance a decision that would make us both happy. Or a decision that would just make _me _happy. I don't know...it's all so confusing." He buried his head in his hands frustrated.

Rachel felt his pain. She remembered how hard it was saying goodbye to him before getting on the train and heading to New York. But as much as it broke her heart, she had been planning on going to NYADA for as long as she could remember, so they both agreed that she couldn't give it up. Sam, however, didn't have a plan so the decision wasn't going to be easy.

She rested her chin on top of his head and planted a small kiss in his soft hair. "I know, I know. But now that we're on break, you have time to weigh out your options by yourself without my help. You're right, maybe this break will be good for us."

He took her hand and placed it on his cheek. "You know...you're pretty wonderful."

She shook her head. "No, _you're _wonderful. Everything you've done so far...you've come a _long _way. And no matter what decision you make...I'll support you the whole way."

He nodded and they sat like that for a while just staring into each others eyes. Finally, Sam looked at the clock and released her hand. "Well, you'd better head off to bed now, it's getting late." He pat her shoulder and gave her a small kiss.

Rachel instead didn't move off the couch. There was _one _thing that she needed from him before they would be separated again.

"Sam?"

"Hmm?" He asked.

She gave him another kiss and a smile before asking. "Make love to me? One last time?"

He stared at her briefly until he grinned matching her smile. "It won't be the last. But yes."

They got off the couch and slowly made their way back to her bedroom, pushing past the curtain for the final time that night.

**And cut!**

**All right, you know what? I'm holding this story hostage until the next chapter. We are getting _closer _and _closer _to the end of the story and I'm _really _not satisfied with the number of reviews, especially since I have the next few chapters mapped out and almost finished with the next one. So here's what we're gonna do if you want to see the next chapter alive and well: I will post it after I get at least FIVE reviews from you people. FIVE. And if I don't see at least FIVE, then this story is just gonna sit and rot incomplete. That's the deal...FIVE reviews and you get the next chapter.**

**Other than that, have a nice day!**


	18. Letter in the Mail

**Wow, you readers are AWESOME! I asked for a minimum of five reviews and in return got seven. SEVEN reviews, that's great!**

**Well you asked for it, so here's the next chapter for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!**

**Now I'll warn you, this chapter is REALLY short compared to the others, but it covers a small bit of what happens after the whole Brody mess and a sneak peak of what's left to come. And don't worry, Brody, I still love ya.**

**Actors, PLACES!**

**Quiet on set!**

**First positions**

**Here we go.**

**Rolling**

**Speed**

**Slate in.**

**Action!**

"All packed, yet?" Santana asked while dragging her suitcase to the door.

Kurt, who was sitting on the couch working on his laptop, looked up and nodded. "I am. Rachel's still packing, though. Did you print out our tickets?"

She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out the papers. "Got them right here. But why the hell did we have to get early morning flights?"

"Early flight are cheaper, honey." He replied. "Can you go check on Rachel?"

"Why?" Santana asked. "I have to go check the mail, I didn't get to because I had work today."

He sighed and waved her off. "Fine, go check it. But if you find Rachel's thing, give it right to her."

**Meanwhile**

Rachel was in her room packing for their two week trip back to Lima. All three of them were heading back home to join their friends for the McKinley High graduation in which Artie, Blaine, Sam, Brittany, and Tina graduate. She also had some big news for Sam...that is if what she was expecting came in the mail for her yet. She looked at her phone and smiled.

It had been at least a month and a half since Sam returned to Lima and their relationship went on "break". During that time, Rachel was able to focus on other things that made her happy, such as exploring New York and watching Broadway shows. When she heard the news that her favorite musical of all time Funny Girl was doing a revival, she immediately jumped at the first opportunity to sign up for auditions. About two weeks after her audition, she was called for a callback and almost a month later, she was surprise by the director of the show one night when she was eating at the diner Santana worked at to announce that she had received the part. When she received the news, she and Sam decided to temporarily break the agreement so she could tell him and he congratulated her immensely.

Oh...you're probably wondering what became of Brody?

Well after his little beat-down with Sam and Santana, he wound up with a concussion that led to him being unconscious in the hospital for several weeks. They covered up the room to make it look like he was practicing dance moves and wound up hitting his head on something, so it didn't look too suspicious when one of the janitors found him. And lie Brody mentioned, there were no security cameras in the entire school, so there was nothing there to pin it on them. The only person who was a bit suspicious when the news got around the school was Miss July since she knew that Santana was the last one to see him, but she was able to convince her that whatever "accident" he got in happened after she had her talk with him.

On the day that he was set to return to school, Rachel informed Santana who accompanied her to every class during the day. Word was out that Brody didn't remember anything from the past year, which included Rachel, but Santana wanted to accompany her to make sure he didn't set his sights on her again.

Santana sat in the back of the classroom during Rachel's classes as they braced themselves for dance class.

When he arrived, they both saw that the damage inflicted from Santana and Sam hadn't healed that much. He was still sporting the remains of a black eye and he had a bit of a limp, but other than that was fine. Miss July re-introduced him to the class and began handing out instructions. That day, they were to begin learning the foxtrot and had to partner up when Santana noticed that there was a shortage of boys, but she partnered Rachel up quickly. During the lesson, he walked around the room like usual and giving pointers to anyone. Santana noticed that Miss July kept whispering in his ear and looking at Rachel and her partner disdainfully. When he saw Rachel, his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and immediately walked over to her, but the minute he placed his hands on her shoulder, Santana was immediately by her side to mediate.

"Keep your conversation strictly about dancing, no need for the paws." She said with urgency.

Brody opened his mouth to protest, but she shot him an icy cold glare that immediately sent a frightened sensation through his body, signaling that she or this girl weren't to be messed with. He just fixed their frame and walked away. He never approached Rachel again after that.

Without Brody and without Sam, Rachel was able to get a lot done. She made it through her classes, went shopping and ate dinner with Kurt and Santana, wiggled through her audition and callback...but now there was only one thing left to do, and this time Sam needed to be involved.

You see, secretly, she filled out an application in Sam's name for the Firefighter Training Academy at Cuyahoga Community College, which was about two hours from Lima. That way, he'd be able to still have a college experience and become the firefighter he always wanted to be. The academy also had a very high reputation. All she had to do is wait for a letter from the school saying whether he had been accepted or not.

She knew he'd be a great firefighter. He was impulsive, loved action, brave, and resourceful. He also looked great in a firefighter uniform that she remembered a few years back during his White Chocolate days. The thought of it made her blush.

She was snapped out of her reverie by Santana poking her head through the curtain. "Berry, you're not done packing yet?"

Rachel looked up at her and frantically resumed folding her clothes and putting them in her suitcase. "Not yet, I'm almost done."

Santana continued to stare at her oddly. She noticed that her face was starting to turn bright red and her actions grew fast-paced and frantic. She smile cunningly.

"You've been fantasizing, haven't you?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, and I have no idea what you are talking about.

Santana smirked. "You can't fool me, I see the redness in your face and you're trying hard not to smile." She shrugged. "Hey, I'll admit I've fantasized myself sometimes about his rock hard abs and his big long-"

Rachel felt her face turn redder and she covered her face. "Ah, that's enough, Santana! Can I have a moment of peace?"

Santana burst out laughing and held out an envelope. "All right, I'm going. But I have something in the mail for you that'll get you really wet-"

Rachel jumped up and snatched the envelop out of her hands. "Thank you, good-bye, Santana!"

After she left, Rachel took a look at the letter. Yup, it was the one she was looking for.

Samuel Evans

Northlake Village Apartments, apt A91

Lima, Ohio 45801

She got out her letter opener and ripped open the envelope. As she read, her smile got even wider and wider.

_Dear Samuel Evans, _

_We are pleased to inform you that we received your application and would like to congratulate your acceptance into the Firefighter Training Academy at Cuyahoga Community College!_

She didn't need to read any further, the first sentence was enough. Now she had to show the letter to Sam, and the choice to attend the academy was completely up to him.

With a bright smile permanently plastered onto her face, she placed the letter in her purse and resumed packing.

**And CUT! **

**There you have it. Now, this chapter was just a small tiny one, but I wanted to give you the 4-1-1 on what had happened afterwards to tie up any loose ends and fill any plot holes I might have missed.**

**Next chapter is the graduation chapter. Sam and Rachel will finally have to make some big choices about their relationship, but it'll end quite smoothly, I'm sure of it. Now that this chapter is posted, I'll get working on the next one.**

**And remember, the only requirement for the next chapter is FIVE reviews. FIVE, count them!**

**Have a nice day, everyone!**


	19. Something Else to Look Forward To

**And here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

****Actors, PLACES!****

****Quiet on set!  
>First positions<br>Here we go.  
>Rolling<br>Speed  
>Slate in.<strong>**

****Action!****

When Santana, Rachel, and Kurt's plane touched down in Lima, they all went their separate ways. Rachel went home to her Dads, Santana went home to her Mom, and Kurt went home with his parents and Finn.

Rachel and Sam also made an agreement to _not _meet up again until the day of graduation which was only two days away, which gave her more time to spend with her Dads. And even her Dads agreed not to talk about him with her until that day since she was making great progress with their break. On her first day back, they let her settle in and took her out for dinner. The next day, they all went bowling and then saw a show at the local community theatre she used to perform in when she was a kid.

On the night before graduation, Rachel sat in her room trying to pick out an outfit to wear to the ceremony tomorrow. Suddenly, a song came on the radio that reminded her of Sam and made her miss him _very _much.

_Today is gonna be the day__  
><em>_That they're gonna throw it back to you__  
><em>_By now you should've somehow__  
><em>_Realized what you gotta do__  
><em>_I don't believe that anybody__  
><em>_Feels the way I do about you now___

_Back beat, the word is on the street__  
><em>_That the fire in your heart is out__  
><em>_I'm sure you've heard it all before__  
><em>_But you never really had a doubt__  
><em>_I don't believe that anybody feels__  
><em>_The way I do about you now_

She could easily picture Sam sitting on her bed wearing a wide grin, strumming his guitar, and singing to her.

_And all the roads we have to walk are winding  
>And all the lights that lead us there are blinding<br>There are many things that I would  
>Like to say to you<br>But I don't know how_

_Because maybe  
>You're gonna be the one that saves me<br>And after all  
>You're my wonderwall <em>

She nodded to the radio, her eagerness to see him tomorrow increasing.

_**The Next Day**_

Rachel and her Dads arrived at McKinley high School eager to greet everyone. She was dressed in an Urban Outfitters Coincidence and Chance Tie Neck Secretary blouse, a Milly Luca Dot print skirt, and Jeffrey Campbell pumps **(the outfit she was wearing during Blaine's **_**All You Need is Love **_**proposal scene)**.

The minute they stepped out of the car, they were greeted by Mike and his parents and Artie's Mom. Rachel only met his Mom vaguely once and she had a sense that his Mom had some memory problems. When she greeted Rachel, she tilted her head and squinted her eyes as she shook her hand.

"You're the short one who kicked that bully in the 'nards for trying to take apart my son's wheelchair!"

Rachel's eyes widened, but she nodded politely. She couldn't remember how to work a TV remote, yet she remembered _that_?

Suddenly, she felt a tap on the shoulder. She turned around and saw Kurt who gave her a hug. "The Glee Club's meeting in the choir room. Should we join them?"

She shook her head. "No, let's give them a minute to themselves. We had our moment last year, let's give them theirs." She felt her phone vibrate in her purse, signaling a text from Sam.

_Meet me in the choir room after Mr. Schue lets us out._

Kurt looked over at the message and smiled. "Better get over there, diva. I'm gonna go greet the other parents."

She started making her way to the school, when she suddenly heard Finn calling her from behind.

"Hey Rachel, wait up!"

She turned around and saw him running to her. When he caught up, he took a second to catch his breath and rested his hand on her shoulder. When he recovered, he stood up and looked at her outfit. "Hey, you look great!"

She smiled. "Thank you, Finn. You look swell too, except I think your tie is a bit askew." She reached up and adjusted it for him.

He chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I've never been really good with that. So...another year down, and all of our friends are graduating today."

She nodded. "Yeah, it's really exciting!"

She suddenly noticed that he was shuffling his foot awkwardly, they way he did when he wanted to ask her something but wasn't sure if he should. "So...what's gonna happen between you and Sam?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. We're gonna talk about it today before the ceremony, but whatever he chooses, I'm supporting him all the way."

He started shuffling his foot again and stuck his hands in his pants pockets. "Look, Rachel, I just wanted to apologize for everything. For kissing you on Thanksgiving and what my Mom said."

She stared at him shocked. "You know what Sam overheard your Mom saying?"

He nodded and bit his lip. "Yup. After Kurt and I left your room, I stayed by the door to listen to your conversation...but I'm sorry about that too!" He added, noticing her frowning at him. "But I heard. I couldn't believe it at first, so I confronted my Mom when we got home and she, Burt, and I got into an argument. She was wrong, Rachel, you and Sam _do _go well together. I'll never forgive myself for never treating you as well as Sam does." He looked down guiltily.

Rachel blinked, letting his words set him. She reached up and lifted his chin with her finger and gave him a small smile. "Finn, you don't need to feel guilty about _anything_. I forgive you and your Mom, and I can _never _forget the fun that we had when we were together. It'll _always _be kept in my memory, what we had isn't something that can be replaced or replicated. But someday, you'll find a girl as equally wonderful as me and will have the pleasure of treating her right, to have and to hold forever. Keep your chin up, she's out there."

He smiled back to her and patted her hand. "Thanks, Rachel. I really appreciate that. Well, good luck with you and Sam, I wish you the best."

She nodded and began to make her way to the choir room. When she got there, she saw everyone huddled up in a circle for a group hug, and it reminded her of _her _graduation day when they did the exact same thing. She decided to wait by the door until they were dismissed.

When the group hug released, she saw that Mr. Schuester was wiping his eyes. "All right, guys, you're all dismissed. I'll see you at the ceremony in a bit, okay?"

As everyone filed out, she greeted and hugged every one of them. Tina came out crying on Blaine's shoulder and gave her a _big _hug before bursting out into sobs again. When Mr. Schuester came out, he grinned.

"Rachel, hey! Waiting on Sam?"

She nodded. "Yes, I am. Gosh, I can't believe it's graduation day again!"

"I know!" He replied. "Seems kinda scary that _you _were in this position about 365 days ago. Time goes by _so _fast, doesn't it?" He looked at his watch and his eyes widened. "Yikes! I gotta run and meet up with the other teachers. I'll see you at the ceremony, okay?"

Before she could say anything, he had already rushed off. She looked into the choir room and saw Sam standing in his graduation gown looking at a picture of them at Nationals last year. She walked in and greeted him in her cheerful _high school voice_. "Hi, Sam Evans? I'm Rachel Berry, co-captain of the Glee club. It's nice to meet you and we are absolutely thrilled to have you on the team." She stuck her hand out.

He turned to her and smiled, shaking her hand. "Um, hi, thanks I guess."

Then she decided to switch to the dialogue they exchanged the day he asked her out.

"All right Sam, what's the emergency? Are you on fire? Did you accidentally swap your chapstick for Santana's lip plumper and your lips are _beyond _swollen?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you something." He took her hands in his. "Look, you're a _really _great girl, and honestly I've had so much fun hanging out with you. I don't know why, but I feel so at ease with you. I don't have to act cool and be afraid to be dorky when I'm around you and you just seem to get me." He sighed before continuing. "And...I know that I'm not exactly like Finn. I'm not really good with making my _own _words which is why I copy others, but with you I think I can say this as _myself_."

"I like yourself." She said softly.

He nodded and started swinging their arms back and forth nervously. "What I'm trying to say is...will you be my girlfriend?" He held up an imaginary ring. "If you accept, this ring will symbolize my promise to you to be true, to never pressure you to do anything more than kiss, to listen to your problems, to tell you when you have food in your teeth or eye gunk, to come over to your house whenever you need something super heavy to move around. I promise to make you feel proud when you walk down the hall and say, "That dude's my boyfriend." I promise to do all of those things without trying to sound like Matthew McConaughey." He laughed. "God, I never realized how corny that sounded until now. But I promise to be your main man and principle squeeze, if you'll only be the princess of my dreams. Whaddaya say?"

She laughed. "You're right, that _was _corny. But I'm pretty sure I said yes, and here we are now."

He pulled her in for a tight hug and inhaled her scent. She missed his warm hugs and it felt _so _nice to be in his arms again. After their hug, they walked hand-in-hand and sat down in their original seats.

"You look really nice today." He said.

She reached out and pushed some loose hair out of his face. "You too, Mister Evans. Where's your cap?"

"It's on the podium." He replied simply. "Have you seen my parents?"

She shook her head. "No, I came right when I got here. They should be here soon, though."

They sat in silence for a few seconds until finally she decided to speak up. "So have you decided on where to go after graduation?"

He stared at her for a few seconds and finally shook his head again. "No, I don't. I don't know _where_ to go. Everyone's been pretty helpful though. Finn and Kurt's Dad offered me a job at his garage, Puck wants me to join him and Finn on their pool cleaning business, and even my parents offered to find me a job if I went back home with them in Kentucky. But I know one thing, and this might shock you." He looked her straight in the eye before replying. "I _don't _wanna be a model. At least, not at the moment."

She leaned her head on his shoulder understandingly. "I'm not mad. Whatever you want to do, I'm with you all the way. The choice has always been yours."

She felt him nod and sit up. When she sat up and looked at him, he was staring at her longingly. "Well, I've made _one _decision, and this is something about where yours counts too." He took her hands in his again and took a deep breath. "Rachel...I love you. I love _everything _about you; your eyes, your nose (he kissed her nose), your hair, your soft hands (he lifted her hand and kissed it), your sexy body...the way you're ambitious, your courage, your singing voice that makes me melt, and they way I just feel absolutely proud to call you mine. We've had our ups and downs and I know we have a _lot _of decisions to make, I know for sure that I _do _wanna spend the rest of my life with you. Now I can't exactly promise to be the breadwinner or more successful than you, but as long as you're mine, I will _always _feel like the king of the world."

Rachel felt touched by his words, and had a strange feeling of what was coming next. "Sam...where is this going?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. When he opened it, he saw a nice diamond ring that made her gasp, and she felt tears welling in her eyes. "What!?"

He smiled, thinking her tears were of happiness. "What I'm trying to say is Rachel Barbara Berry...will you marry me?"

And then time froze. She wanted _so _much to throw her arms around him and pepper him with kisses while proclaiming _Yes! Yes!_ over and over again, a big part of her knew it wasn't right. They were too _young _to get married and settle down. There was _so _much she wanted to do before she got married...and she was also reminded of the letter addressed to Sam sitting in her purse. There was so much they both had a lot to explore before they made this big decision. She looked up at him again and saw him staring at her eagerly, like a dog waiting for his treat. She felt her heart breaking as she reached up and lowered the box. "Sam...put it away."

He looked shocked and looked down at the box. "What? You don't wanna marry me?"

She sighed. "_Of course_ I want to marry you...but sometime in the future when we both know what we're doing with our lives. We're still teenagers, Sam!"

He held out the ring again. "So? I want you, and I want you _now _before it's too late."

She shook her head. "Sam, it _won't _be too late, not unless maybe our feelings change. Remember what you proposed before you left New York the last time? You wanted us to find out what we wanted for _ourselves_."

He nodded. "Yes. If you accepted, I would have moved to New York and figured out everything from there."

She gripped his hands and began stroking his knuckles with her thumbs. "Come on, Sam, teen marriages practically _never _work out. We've been doing so well with our individual lives, it's just not the right time to combine just yet." She looked at him seriously. "Think about it _hard_. Do you _really _think you're ready to seal our lives together right after you graduate? You sure there is absolutely _nothing _you want to do yourself before you settle down? Because once we do, there will be a _lot _more responsibilities."

He looked at her and back at the ring. Then he closed the box and laughed. "I guess this _was _a hasty decision. What the hell was I thinking?"

She lifted his chin with her finger and gave him a small kiss. "I still love you...this doesn't change anything. But put the ring away and save it for a little later...you know, when we're _sure _that we have everything all figured out."

He sighed and put the box back in his pocket. "Well there goes _that _plan. Now I'm _still _not sure what I want to do."

She reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope, placing it in his hands. "Well...this might help with a decision. I think it's good news for you."

He looked at the envelope and looked back at her puzzled. "This is for me? Why do you have it?"

"Just open it!" She said playfully pushing his shoulder.

He opened the envelope and began to read the letter. Rachel actually saw his jaw drop and his face scrunched up in confusion. "Wait...there must be a mistake. I never applied here."

She nodded. "I know. _I _did. I filled out an application for you, got your transcripts, all that jazz. And I turned what you said about wanting to be a firefighter into an essay and sent that in. And they really like you." She turned her head away sheepishly. "I know I shouldn't have...but when I saw how passionate you became about wanting to be one, I knew that you needed a bit of a push to take action. I only wanted what was best for you...I couldn't just leave you hanging undecided. You're not mad, are you?" She looked back at him and saw him still reading the letter.

After reading it a few more times, he looked back at her, his face blank. "I'm not mad. I'm not sure whether to take you in my arms and kiss you hard or to be outraged. I'm just shocked that I _actually _got in."

She leaned over and placed her hand on his. "Well...the decision to attend the academy is all up to you. You can still write to them saying you don't want to, or you can go and become the firefighter you've always wanted to be. I only want what's best for you."

He looked at the letter again. "Are you _really _willing to give me up again?"

She shrugged. "Just your time, not you. And I've already made it through a whole year without you, I'm sure I can still spare some time."

He gazed at her incredulously. "But how am I gonna _pay _for all this?"

She giggled. "One step ahead of you. You have a scholarship for this semester, so it'll pay for your tuition and books. Now if you still want to continue with the program, you can either apply for financial aid or my Dads even offered to help pay for your next semester. But again, the ball's in your court if you want to take a chance at it."

He grabbed her and hugged her to him tightly. "You really are selfless, you know that?"

"How so?" she asked.

She felt a tear drop onto her shoulder and he wiped his face. "This. All this, you've done for me and you even made my dream come true. We've danced through the fire, had our ups and downs, and you knew the sacrifices it would take and you made them. For me. I couldn't be more proud to call you my girl."

She felt her throat tighten and some tears spilled out of her eyes too. "And I'm proud to call you my man." She whispered. "I love you so much."

He nodded and began stroking her hair. "I love you too."

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Blaine and Tina poked their heads in the room to fetch them.

"Sam, come on!" Tina chided. "Graduates have to meet up in the gym."

Sam wiped his face and held up a finger. "All right, give me a sec." He turned to Rachel again. "Gimme one last kiss as a high school student?"

She giggled and pulled him to her, crashing her lips against his tightly. They had to release when Tina tapped him on the shoulder impatiently and began tugging on his arm.

He chuckled. "All right, all right, I'm going!"

Rachel brushed off his gown and handed him his cap. "Go get 'em, tiger. I'll be out in a minute."

He stood up and exited the room with Blaine and Tina.

Before she headed to the auditorium, she stood up and looked around the room again, missing Glee Club terribly. But it was time for a new generation to begin, without her. Wiping another tear from her eye, she left the room.

_**Graduation**_

The ceremony was absolutely beautiful, even compared to _last _year's, although Rachel felt more emotional at hers. However, today, she was feeling a mix of emotions: _immense _admiration for Sam's accomplishment, overwhelming for watching him grow up as if he was her own child, and a bit of heartbreak that he'd be moving on afterward.

Her Dads saw her crying, so Hiram held her hand and Leroy wiped her tears with his handkerchief.

"Don't cry, cupcake." He said. "It's not the end...think of it as another beginning for you two."

She nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder, terribly dreading the end of her trip when she had to go back to New York.

When Sam's name was called and he came from behind the curtain, Rachel was on her feet cheering and clapping the loudest. He spotted her in the audience and blew her a kiss, which she reciprocated back to him. Nearby, she saw his parents and his siblings also cheering for him.

After the ceremony during the meet and greet, she scoured the crowd, trying to find him and congratulate him. When she saw him, he was showing his parents the Firefighter Academy acceptance letter. She saw their faces turn from shocked, to absolutely proud. His Mom started crying and his whole family gathered into a group hug. She decided not to disturb them, so she turned around and started looking for her Dads again sadly.

Suddenly, she heard Mary's voice call out to her. "Rachel, dear, wait up!"

She turned around again and Mary flung her arms around her tearfully into a tight hug. "My dear girl. I _knew _you were the perfect girl for Sam!"

She felt Dennis pat her back. "Our dear girl. You gave our son _everything_: love, courage, faith, and now ambition. He has more to look forward to...you are _amazingly _perfect."

She felt a tug on her skirt and saw Stacie and Stevie gazing up at her with big smiles on their faces.

"Rachie?" Stacie asked and Rachel grinned, remembering the cute nickname she called her. "Is Sammy gonna really be a firefighter?"

She looked to her left and saw Sam shrug sheepishly. She looked down at Stacie. "Maybe. It's up to him."

Stevie tugged at Sam's gown and stuck his lower lip out at him. "Sammy, you should be one! Then you'll be my _super _big brother!"

Mary leaned over to her and whispered proudly, "I just _knew _Carole Hudson was wrong! I'm team Evanberry all the way." She nodded behind her and saw Carole scowling at them a mile away.

Hiram and Leroy caught up to them passing through the crowd. "There you all are! Are you ready to go out to eat?"

Sam nodded. "You guys go on ahead, we'll catch up in a minute." After they all scattered, he turned to Rachel. "Thank you."

"For what?" She asked.

"For everything." He replied simply. "For being there for me, for letting me learn how to love, for creating obstacles, for giving me something to have and to hold forever...and for this." He held up the letter again. "For giving me something else to look forward to. You've given me everything I've always wanted...I will give you all _my _everything someday."

She grinned and gave him a small kiss. "You _have _given me your everything. Now we're even."

**And CUT!**

**I JUST realized and found out that my last chapter was typed ENTIRELY in bold. It looks so out of place...but I really don't feel like editing and re-uploading so we're just gonna go with it.**

**Now the story's not ever yet. I have a few more chapters in mind, and the ending so I know where I'm going. Just hang in there, we got this!**

**All right, now give me five. No, don't slap my hand. Five REVIEWS! Yeah!**

**Have a nice day, everyone, and hope you all had a great Halloween!**


	20. Home Is Where the Heart Is

**Hello, readers!**

**All right, so here's the honest truth. I was _originally _going to write maybe like a chapter and an epilogue, and then done. And when I was done, I'd go back to writing my Power Rangers story I left on pause forever. For some reason, though, and even in lieu of the new season premiering, I feel like I'm not done. I feel like there is so much more that can be explored with my story. So instead of ending, I'm going to go furthur and explore the stress of Samchel's relationship as _adults_ as they finally start figuring out where they stand in life.**

**Buckle up and fasten your seatbelts, folks!**

****Actors, PLACES!****

****Quiet on set!  
>First positions<br>Here we go.  
>Rolling<br>Speed  
>Slate in.<strong>**

****Action!****

Three years.

It's been three years since everything changed. Sam trained at the Fire Academy and Rachel lived her dream on Broadway.

Sam spent one year training at the academy, then a few months at the new hire academy, and then another year in field training. Afterwards, he went back home and joined Lima's fire department. He became one of the highest ranking firemen in the department and well respected. He still continued to live with Puck, though, it was easier.

Rachel, on her side, shone brighter than Broadway herself. After her run with _Funny Girl_, she shone as the lead in _Damn Yankees_, _Evita_, _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_, _Cinderella, _and _The Light in the Piazza_.

She and Sam worked _extra _hard to remain faithful to each other. Sure, more new people came into their lives, but whenever Sam felt the urge of temptation, he remembered the engagement ring he was still saving for her, and when Rachel did, she remembered how Brody toyed with her feelings.

All the while, everyone else continued to fall in love and one by one began to get engaged: Quinn and Finn, Tina and Mike, and Puck with Lauren. Kurt and Blaine never got back together, but they parted as friends on good terms.

Santana eventually left the apartment to become a singer in LA along with Mercedes. A little while later, news went out that Brittany had joined them in LA.

Kurt even had his share of stardom, too. Deciding to be Rachel's stage partner, he dabbled in his share of shows: _Cabaret_, _Company_, _Mary Poppins_, _Newsies_, and _Titus Andronicus_. After those shows, though, he felt that his passion was more into play-writing. He changed his major at NYADA and couldn't be more happier.

However...Rachel didn't feel really happy. Sure, she was happy at first to _finally _be able to live her dream. She was a star on Broadway, she had the love of her life on her side even though he was thousands of miles away, she had amazing friends brought with her from high school and family that loved her, but there was _still _something that felt like it was missing. Probably the fact that she got to see everyone minus Kurt every once in a blue moon: the Glee kids would visit whenever they got a chance to be in New York, her Dads visited on the holidays and skyped with her as much as possible, and the same with Sam.

She worried about him a lot. Sure, they officially declared their faithfulness to each other, but she still hated the ache of being away from him. The only thing they had for each other to rely on was trust and communication. He promised not to give in to temptation, and she promised not to let her schedule get in the way of their relationship.

She missed those times. Being back in high school where emotions ran up and down the halls...acting like silly kids who can't keep their hands off each other. She missed when the Cheerios would smirk at her as they walked down the hall while he whispered that he'd choose her over them any day. She missed being in the choir room and using Glee Club as an excuse to serenade each other. That was then...now they're adults living in the real world with jobs, dreams, and distance.

She rarely saw Kurt, too. Sure, they'd still eat lunch during break at school, but never in between. In the mornings, he'd be gone either to work or another audition. At night, he was at work or doing a show. He was home more when he started play-writing, though. On her nights off, they'd sit by the fireplace and brainstorm ideas for his "next big hit".

One night, he felt her worry when she refused her daily routine. She had been like that over the past few weeks: instead of brainstorming ideas, she's flop on the couch in a daze as if she was pondering something important.

"Something wrong, diva?" He asked, peering at her over his spectacles.

She sat on the couch picking at a strawberry on her plate. "Hmm? You think something's wrong?"

He nodded and placed his notebook down. "I've been sensing it over these past few weeks. I'm starting to think Broadway's wearing you down. You must be exhausted!"

She shrugged and put her plate down. "Kind of, yes."

He sighed and stretched out. "That's the hard part of being a star: There's _always _something to do. What you need is a nice hot bath, that always helps me. In fact, I can't even remember the last time _I _had one myself!"

She shook her head. "No, that's not it, Kurt. I just...I don't feel really happy with my life now. I realize that now this isn't really the life I want."

"_Wanted_." He corrected her. "Not the life you _wanted_. You sure you're not just bored? You've been performing for the past three years, doll. Some people just aren't cut out to make it a long time thing."

She threw her hands up frantically and grunted. "No, that's not what I meant!"

He blinked and rubbed his face with his hands. "Then _please_," he pleaded patiently. "tell me what this is about."

She opened her mouth and closed it. Her mind was racing...what really _was _wrong anyway?

He sighed again and folded his hands together. "Here, let's play the word association game to maybe see if we can get to the root of what's wrong with you. Sam."

"Miss him...love him." She replied simply. "Hate that we've spent years only seeing each other in real life every once in a blue moon."

He nodded and smiled. "See? We're making a breakthrough! Okay...New York life."

"The same every day." She replied bluntly. "Nothing really _exciting _happens anymore. Everything's the same happening every day, where's the surprise?"

Kurt scratched his chin before trying another word. "Broadway."

This time, she hesitated before answering. "_Boring_. Before, I always dreamed of living in the limelight..singing and dancing in front of _hundreds _of people, seeing my name in a lit up marquee. But now, everything's just too...predictable. Look at the other Broadway stars! Some made it to Hollywood and even TV shows...and look at me. I haven't been stopped _once _on the street since _Funny Girl _ and asked for my autograph. I'm like a fifteen-minute of fame pony, soon I'll just be a washed up Broadway actress." She sank back in her seat sadly. "Maybe it would have been easier if I just stayed home."

"What would you have done if you did?" He asked her.

She pursed her lips. "I don't know. Sam and I, we probably would have gotten married...he'd be a firefighter and I'd find something to do with myself."

He smirked and took her hands in his. "Rachel...you weren't born and bred to just be a house wife. You made to be a _star_, and you are a star! What would you do with all the ambition and fierceness if you stayed local?"

She shrugged her hands off. "Kurt, maybe I'm tired of being a star! You actually think real and big Broadway stars _just _that on their resume? No! They're also all singers and Hollywood actors and such! And from the looks of things, I'm not getting there anytime soon."

"Then go to Hollywood!" He said exasperated. "Go, meet up with Santana and Mercedes, I'm sure they can help you get somewhere."

She grunted very frustrated. "No, I don't _want _to be a star anymore. I want to be with _Sam!_ I've spent too much time without him, we can't make this work until we're together again!"

Kurt stared at her and frowned. "So, you're just gonna give up Broadway? You're just gonna walk away in the middle of _Sweet Charity_?"

She crossed her arms and turned away from him. "I'll wait until _after _the show. Even the worst quitters wait until the end of the movie. After that, I'm going home so I can work on relationship with him."

He continued to stare at her and leaned back in his seat. "You know, I'm starting to think Sam's been a bit of a..._distraction _all this time."

His words his her hard. She opened her mouth and closed it again, unbelieving to them. "Distraction!?" She hissed, outraged. "How could you say such a thing?"

He shrugged and folded his hands behind his head. "Defend me if I'm wrong, but don't think I haven't been noticing. The _reason _you don't seem to be getting enough attention from any so called fans is because half your mind is also focused on him. Think of it, Rachel! Look at how much you've accomplished without him tagging behind. You've starred in your favorite show and five others _without _him being here in New York to stand in your way. There's no need to give it up."

She blinked, wishing he would stop talking. For some reason, though, she wanted to know his reasoning. "What are you saying?" She whispered.

He leaned forward and took her hands in his. "There's no need to give up Broadway, Broadway's a once in a lifetime opportunity. But boyfriends and relationships, they always come and go. All you have to do is end it with Sam on good terms and continue being the star you were meant to be."

She jumped back outraged. "Kurt, are you _seriously _advising me to give up Sam, the love of my life in order to keep my _career_?"

He paused before answering. "Yes." He said simply.

She pouted and stood up from the couch. "Hmph, some friend _you _are. I've made up my mind, after the show I'm quitting and going back home to Sam. Go ahead and try to stop me." She turned and headed to her room.

"Don't do it, Rachel." She heard Kurt call to her back. "You're making a big mistake. Once you walk away from Broadway, it'll be _really _hard to go back."

She rolled her eyes and pushed back her curtain. "Kurt, everything you say now is absolutely irrelevant to me now. Goodnight."

The show went and ended. She didn't even want to give Kurt a proper goodbye in person, she just wrote a note, left enough money to pay for two months of rent, packed her belongings, and hopped on a train back home. When Kurt awoke, he found the note on the money and frowned as he read it.

_Kurt,_

_The show's over, and I'm fulfilling my promise to go back home. I didn't have the courage to say godbye to you in person, but I didn't want you stopping me. And please, don't follow be back to Lima and drag me back. Here's enough money to pay our rent for two months, hopefully it buys enough time to find a roommate. If you still want to communicate, you can still text me and I'll be more than happy to talk to you. But I have to do this. I'm sorry, but Sam needs me and I need him...so hopefully we'll see where my next journey takes us. I love you._

_Sincerely, Rachel_

The minute she touched base at the train station, she called a cab to take her to Sam and Puck's apartment. It was literally downpouring so much rain, she felt sorry for her driver and mentally reminded herself to leave him a huge tip when they got there. It was raining so much, that even her tiny , polka-dot umbrella didn't hold out either.

As soon as they got to the apartment complex, she attempted again to make her umbrella behave, but the wind and rain destroyed it. Now, she had no choice but to pick up her suitcases and sprint to the door. By the time she got there, she was absolutely soaking wet and pretty sure her makeup was running.

Puck had just finished his evening workout when he suddenly heard rapid pounding on the door. He checked his watch, 11:15. Who the heck would be hammering on the door at _this _late hour? Answering the door, he found a _beyond _soaking wet and shivering Rachel Berry.

"Berry? What are you doing here?"

"I n-n-need to talk to Sam." She said through chattering teeth. "Where is he?"

He looked over his shoulder and called into the living room where Sam was watching TV. "Hey bro! You got a package at the door for you!"

A few seconds later, Sam nonchalantly appeared at the door. Even though she was soaking wet and freezing, the sight of him warmed her up a bit. She saw his face turn from confused to absolute terrified.

"Rachel, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in New York? When did you get here? Why don't you have an umbrella? You're soaking-"

Puck shook his head and interrupted. "We can play twenty questions later, Sam! First we need to get her out of the rain and into something dry."

They both brought her inside and dried her off with some towels. Puck went into his room to fetch her some warm dry clothes while she went to the bathroom to wipe her makeup off. When she was all dry and dressed, Sam led her over to the couch and greeted her with a sweet kiss. "Okay, now we can relax. What are you doing here, Rachel?"

She smiled. "I missed you."

He chuckled and pushed some loose hair out of her face. "I missed you too. But did you really just wake up, pack your bags, and head back to Lima? Does Kurt know?"

She nodded. "Yes. He tried to stop me, but I wouldn't be convinced, so I just packed my bags and left."

He continued to stare at her blankly. "What about Broadway? You're just gonna give it up?"

She shrugged. I've done my time, I'm not getting anywhere. I came here to be with you."

Sam shook his head. "No, Rachel, baby. You belong at home in New York with Kurt. You belong on Broadway...being a star."

She leaned over and gave him another long kiss. "No, Sam. Home is where the heart is...and my heart is with you."

**And there we have it. Now originally, this was gonna be the last chapter and an epilogue to follow with the future, but I feel like continuing. I feel like exploring the struggles they'll have as adults now in the real world. I'm sure it'll be great! But until then...ciao!**


	21. A New Life

**So here's what you missed on Glee: Stuff. Oh, and the show ended.**

**Like I said, now we're diving deeper into how Samchel's relationship as adults since he's now a firefighter and she's a Broadway dropout. And I had to do a LOT of research on firefighters, so hopefully my info is a bit accurate. My bad if it's not.**

**Actors, PLACES!**

**Quiet on set!**

**First positions**

**Here we go.**

**Rolling**

**Speed**

**Slate in.**

**Action!**

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since Rachel quit Broadway and showed up on Sam and Puck's doorstep.

Puck was a little reluctant to allow Rachel to be added on the apartment's lease, but she still had some leftover money from her last show and promised to find a job to keep up her end. The closest she got so far was a part time job being Ms. Pillsbury's intern and eating tables at the local Red Robins. It was enough for now and it was all fine...at first.

She had come home to be with Sam, but being the girlfriend of a well-respected firefighter was almost the same as being one of a soldier. Sure, he was around...sometimes. He always he to be alert and ready to be called away in a swift moment to handle situations like fires, rescuing people trapped in their cars, provide quick medical services as an EMT, pick up debris from accident sites, and small things like testing out and repairing fire hydrants. Sometimes, he and his team would be called away to handle a situations in nearby towns like Dayton and, depending on how severe issue was, he'd be away for periods of time.

During those two weeks, she had tried to adjust to his routine. She even met some of the members of his team when he invited them to the apartment for dinner (which she cooked, but they wound up bring home KFC instead). They gushed over how pretty she was and how jealous they were that Sam had a smoking hot girlfriend while they didn't, and that moment made her so proud to be his girlfriend. It seemed strange going from small-town girl, to big city star, and back to small-town girl again.

_**Present Day**_

Here she was lying on Sam's bed with a tear-stained face. She hadn't stopped crying for twenty four hours and even those seven glasses of water didn't help. Sam had been away the past three days in Marysville to repair all the fire hydrants that had oddly stopped working. He wasn't able to answer the phone either because of bad cell service.

Where did everything go wrong? She was dealing with a new kind of pressure, the kind where Sam was hardly ever home, she would have a nervous breakdown whenever Ms. Pillsbury had one, all the other Glee kids were far and away, Kurt repeatedly calling her phone trying to beg her to come back to New York, her Dads-

There was a knock on the door interrupting her thoughts. Puck came in carrying a steaming mug and set it down on the nightstand. "Here, babe. I made you some hot lemon water, just the way you like it."

She sat up and drank from it, loving how the hot water cleared her dry throat. "Thank you, Noah." She said hoarsely.

He looked at the state of her and pat her head gently. "Hey, it's not exactly the worse thing that could happen."

She glared at him. "You may say so, but it's different for everyone!" She snapped.

_**Two Days Ago**_

"Oh, how I've missed our family dinners!" Rachel gushed as she sat down in her usual place at the dining room table.

Hiram poured her a glass of water from his favorite crystal glass pitcher. "And we love having it with you, baby girl. Noah, nice of you to join us too." He added while giving Puck a nod.

Leroy appeared around the corner bring a bunch of delectable dishes. Suddenly, Rachel noticed that these dishes were all her favorites: fancy pastas, salad, bread and honey spread, lemon cakes and all assortments of food scattered the table. Her Dads only did this whenever they announced big news, which wasn't too often.

She also seemed to noticed how not very close both her Dads were. Usually they always stood arm in arm or holding hands, or even just very close to each other. This time, she saw a space between them and their body language seemed a bit off. They also seemed a bit less cheerful than usual.

"All right everyone," Leroy said clapping his hands together. "let's tuck in!"

Dinner seemed quieter than usual. Conversation was light, but the atmosphere seemed...vague. Leroy didn't crack any jokes, and Hiram tried to make small talk, but Rachel definitely sensed something wrong.

After finishing her second plate, she set down her fork and folded her hands. "All right, what's going on? You cooked my favorite foods, so there is big news, but you both are acting like someone died."

Both Hiram and Leroy looked at each other and sighed. They set their utensils down on their plates and stared at her uncertainly.

Puck cleared his throat, clearly feeling uncomfortable. "I'll leave you three alone to talk." He got up from the table and walked into the living room.

When he was gone, Hiram leaned over and took Rachel's hands in his. "Now, cupcake, we do have some news to tell you. And it might seem upsetting, but Dad and I have thought long and hard about this so we need you to keep an open mind."

Rachel stared at him confused. "I don't understand. Are you selling the house or something? Are you moving?"

Leroy shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "It's a bit more complicated than that. You see, when your father and I met, it was one of the happiest moments of our lives. He was the sweetest person, sweeter than honey."

"Your Dad had a fantastic sense of humor." Hiram added.

"Right, and when we had you, our happiness grew even bigger." Leroy stated.

"We watched and marveled at how you grew and progressed, how much you were able to achieve. It made us proud to be your parents. It made us feel like we were making history by raising you right. I couldn't be even more prouder to polish off all your trophies and show off pictures of your dance recitals and musicals."

There was a brief pause as Hiram and Leroy looked at each other uncertainly again. Rachel felt her stomach clench, as she knew the worst news was coming.

Hiram continued and she noticed his voice beginning to crack. "But eventually when the baby bird leaves the nest, the two parents are left to deal with each other. You were the glue that held us all together, and we figured we had to learn to take care of ourselves and each other now. After you graduated and left for college, your Dad and I started to become a bit distant. We both began working a lot more, making new friends, going out...but being home with each other without you, it was like living with a total stranger."

"What Daddy is trying to say, pumpkin, is that we sort of lost touch with each other and began living two separate lives that pretty much alienated the other. We even began to fight a lot but we didn't tell you because we didn't want to worry you."

She blinked. "So both are being torn apart because of me?"

They both shook their heads frantically. "No, no, no! Baby girl, this has nothing to do with you, don't you think that for a second. But what we're trying to say is that...we've become two very different people that are just no longer compatible with each other. Which is why we're getting a divorce."

Rachel gasped and felt like someone threw a dodge ball at her stomach. "You can't be serious! Why? You're my Dads, what about me? I thought you loved me!"

"We do, Rachel, which is why we're doing this!" Hiram said, watery tears streaming down his face. "We had to discover ourselves again after you left and realized that we're just not compatible anymore. Our last and biggest blowout wasn't too long ago when your Dad began spending more time at the office and going out with his new buddies instead of being home with me."

Leroy sighed. "Now, Hiram, we promised not to point fingers while Rachel is here. Rachel, sweetie, you're an adult now. You need to start finding what path you want to take. Your Daddy and I...well, we strayed away from our path and are on two different ones now. We're getting a divorce because we care about you...they say you have to lose everything before you can really find yourself. Now you don't have to forgive us, we just want you to understand because we've already made our decision."

Rachel looked at both her Dads while feeling completely numb...Hiram sobbing uncontrollably in his chair, Leroy looking content while trying to keep a straight face in his. What was she to think? First, Sam's so busy with work and now her two other favorite people in the world no longer loved each other...what was to happen now?

_**Present Time**_

"Babe, it's for the best." Puck said, trying to be reassuring. "You don't want them together but miserable, do you?"

"Whose side are you on, Noah?" She snapped.

He shrugged. "Hey, I'm just trying to help you understand what they're going through. But before you bite my head off again, I have some good news for you. Sam just called me, they finished fixing all the fire hydrants and he's on his way home."

She sat up in bed abruptly. "He is? Why didn't he text me?"

"I think he did". Puck replied. "Where's your phone?"

She looked around and found it under her pillow. Six text messages from Sam.

Fire hydrants almost fixed, babe. I'll be home sooner than we thought.

Rachel, you there? Did you go out? I'll text you later.

_Baby, u ok? Got no responses from you yesterday, do we need to get your phone fixed?_

_Wakey, wakey! Gotta fix three more fire hydrants and then we're done._

_Fire hyrants FIXED! I'm on my way home, babe...still haven't responded. What's going on?_

_Ok, I'm calling Puck because something's up. Hopefully you're ok, I'm gonna give you a BIG kiss when I get home!_

She looked up at him sheepishly. "Did he call you?"

He nodded. "He was super worried about you. I told him you received bad news and were crying in bed for two days but I said you'd tell him yourself. He'll be home in a few hours."

She looked down at her tear-stained pillow and sighed. "I don't know if I want to see him right now."

He pat her head understandingly and got up. "I'll let you get your thoughts together and let you decide when he gets home. Everything's going to be ok."

She sat up and hugged him before leaving the room. "Thanks, Puck, you really are the best."

During the next few hours, she paced and paced. Would she want to see Sam when he got home? Would he want to listen to her vent or be so wiped out from work. Suddenly, the discussion with her Dads struck her...what if when he got home, they realized that they aren't compatible either? Though true, they had changed over the years since they started dating in high school, they were adults in the real world. The difference between them and her Dads though was that they didn't have a child that would hold them together and be proud of together. But what if when they did the same thing would happen?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming shut and Sam's frantic voice floating through the apartment.

"Where is she, is she ok? Puck, stop stalling and TELL ME if she's ok!"

"Calm down, bro! Ask her yourself, she's in your room."

She didn't want Sam to come bursting into the room, so she slowly made her way into the hall and towards the voices. "It's all right, Sam, I'm not hurt."

And there he was...dressed in a black t-shirt and fire pants holding a bouquet of roses. His face turned from concerned to relieved. Dropping the roses on the counter, he ran over, picked her up and spun her around while kissing her tightly but tenderly. She let the warmth of his embrace light up the cold numbness she was feeling earlier. He came home to her, alive and uninjured and she loved him all the more for it.

A few seconds later, they came up for air and he hugged her tightly. "Baby, I am so glad you're ok! And I'm so sorry I let you down and wasn't here for you! But don't worry, I'll make it up to you, the next few days I'll make sure you're treated like more of a queen than freaking Beyonce!"

She laughed and hugged him again. "Sammy, you don't need to overexert yourself. You've had a long three days, you should take some time for yourself, too."

He shook his head and kissed her forehead. "Nah, right now I'm gonna take a shower, change my clothes and then chillax and snuggle on the couch with my baby."

A few hours later, they were both snuggled on the couch watching Forrest Gump. Puck had gone out on a date with a girl in his class, so it was just the two of them tonight.

"So Puck said you got some bad news." Sam suddenly chimed in. "What's going on?"

She sat up, reminding herself not to get too overwhelmed before telling him. "So...I went to see my Dads yesterday..."

He pushed some loose hair out of her face. "All right...what did they say? Is everything ok?"

She shook her head, the tears she promised she wouldn't shed threatening to fall. "No...they're getting a divorce."

Sam's jaw dropped open in shock. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry. Come here, let me give you a hug."

She grabbed him and held him tightly, afraid of what would happen if she let go. "I don't know what happened!" She sobbed. "They said after I left for college, they realized they weren't just compatible with each other anymore."

He stroked her hair soothingly. "Aw baby, it's ok. It happens sometimes with parents. They feel complete as a family but when one piece of the puzzle separates, it's tricky to hold it together. And people tend to get lost in the whole family dynamic that they forget to take care of themslves."

She nodded and wiped her nose. "I know. Dad says sometimes you have to lose everything before you can really find yourself."

"It's true." Sam replied. "Sometimes that just happens with people. But they're doing it so they can be better Dads for you and better people for others. I promise everything's gonna be ok." She continued to sit there quietly and he sensed that there was more that was worrying her. "Something else is troubling you."

She didn't want to bring it up, but she knew she had to bring up what was haunting her. "Sam...what if this happens to us too?"

He looked at her strangely. "We don't have a kid."

"I know, but we're a lot different now than we were in high school. What if one of us wakes up one day and suddenly realizes that we're not compatible anymore?"

He shrugged. "If it happens, it happens. I hope it doesn't, though. Not everyone turns out like their parents. We're adults now, we'll just have to play by ear."

She snuggled into his chest again. "I hope not either. Let's just live in the moment right now."

**And CUT!**

**So it has literally been monhs since I updated this story and I kind of lost heart for it. Sure, the random and sudden Samchel appearance towards the ending of the show helped a bit, but I've kind of strayed from the path again. I actually cannot think of any real life adult situations they can face but if you readers have an idea, please feel free to put them in a nice review or pm me a message if this story is worth continuing. Or if you think this story's plot is well enough too this point, let me know and I'll write a quick epilogue and be done with it. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!**


	22. Where Do I Go From Here?

**Quiet on set! **

**First positions **

**Here we go. **

**Rolling **

**Speed **

**Slate in. **

**(Background action!) **

**Action!**

_Fly me to the moon_

_And let me play among the stars_

_Let me see what spring is like_

_On Jupiter and Mars_

Quinn was singing softly to her little baby girl, Cecelia Abigail Hudson, while waiting for Rachel to arrive.

Cecelia took Finn's last name even though they hadn't been married yet. It's okay though, she would wait for Finn to get himself together before having a wedding.

She bowed her head to give a silent prayer. Thanking God for the big old Victorian house she inherited from her Great-Grandma Didi, for the strength to make it to college and get her business degree, for using that degree to help her become a successful real estate agent, for the love of her life Finn who she wouldn't trade for anyone, and of course for their blessing of a baby girl Cecelia. It made her cry of the thought of being ready to have another chance at motherhood.

Cecelia began fussing again like she did when Quinn never finished a song so Quinn started rocking and singing again.

_Fill my heart with song_

_And let me sing for ever more_

_You are all I long for_

_All I worship and adore_

_In other words, please be true_

_In other words, I love you_

Cecelia squealed and gave her a big grin. Quinn smiled back and kissed her tiny nose. She was then suddenly alerted when a loud knock on the door snapped her out of her reverie.

Opening the door, Rachel stepped in holding a large yellow folder. They both greeted each other with a big hug and friendly smiles.

"Hi, Quinn, Cecelia! Sorry I'm late, was caught in construction traffic."

"No problem." Quinn replied. "Come on in, I have my laptop set up in the dining room."

As she followed her in, Rachel smiled while wondering how great things turned out. Quinn was very supportive of Rachel when she was on Broadway and even went out of her way to attend her shows. After Quinn graduated college, she came home to find Finn still here working at Burt's garage. They decided to reconnect and after a few dates, they decided to try again as an adult couple. After about a year, Finn got down on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage. Rachel was present along with the other Glee members to give their blessing. They decided to have a long engagement though and would have a wedding when they were settled and ready.

"Can you hold her real quick, Rachel, while I look at your files?" Quinn asked.

Rachel nodded and handed her the folder while she took the baby. Cecelia began staring at her strangely, trying to examine the stranger she was suddenly in the care of.

Rachel smiled. "I haven't seen her since you brought her home from the hospital, she kind of looks like you."

"She has Finn's nose, though." Quinn replied. "I'm just hoping she inherits my blonde hair."

Cecelia suddenly started cooing and wiggling around in the blanket wrapped around her. Rachel gave her a quick kiss on the head and started bouncing her up and down. "Where did you get the name Cecelia and Abigail?"

"I wanted to name her Cecelia and Finn wanted to name her Abigail." Quinn said. "We decided to compromise by flipping a coin, winner got to pick the first name and loser took the second name. I won. I named her Cecelia because girls with beautiful names grow up looking beautiful, and she's going to grow up as beautiful as I was."

Rachel nodded approvingly but suddenly, Cecelia began fussing even _more _as if trying to escape the blanket. "Oh dear, she's quite fussy today."

Quinn looked up. "She usually calms down when you sing to her. I was singing _Fly Me to the Moon_ to her before you got here."

While Quinn prepared the files, Rachel sang a soft version of _Be Our Guest. _It caused Cecelia to squeal again and stop squirming.

Quinn put the files back in the folder and sat down. "Are we ready to get this tax return done?"

Rachel nodded and sat down across for her. "I was just thinking, Quinn, about how well everything's turned out."

"Indeed it has." Quinn replied. "And I thank God every day for all my blessings."

After about 45 minutes of typing, they were finally done. Quinn stretched and leaned back in her chair. "So how are you and Sam doing?"

Rachel opened her mouth to speak but suddenly closed it, wondering what to say. Fine? Okay? Not well? Should she describe the lonely nights of sleeping by herself? Sam was a _firefighter _and a really good one. So good that he never asked for days off. And on the days off, if he was asked to come in to cover for someone, he would jump at it. Not like his schedule was better off before...being a firefighter meant two days of all day/overnight work and two days off. When she got home late, he was hardly even there and on his days off, he was always tired. He always smelled like smoke and she found herself constantly washing his uniform just so he could rest. He never asked about her days at work, but always told stories about his. She couldn't even remember the last time they were intimate with each other before it all got so hectic.

She could have turned to Puck, but he was always busy too. And if she sought _too _much comfort with him…it would get very complicated.

She could feel her chest tightening and tears were _definitely _threatening to fall. Looking up, she saw Quinn, concern written on her face.

"Not so well, I'm guessing?" Quinn asked. She then got up from her chair and, stooping to Rachel's level, wrapped her in a big hug. "It's okay to cry."

Those words set it off. Rachel felt like she was crying waterfalls, and she saw her tears soaking up Quinn's sweater. "It's like he doesn't even know I'm there!" She sobbed. "Two days of overnight work and two days of sleep. He doesn't even _appreciate _the small things I do like making his meals and washing his uniform. He won't even _touch _me anymore! I feel as if I've been reduced to just being another one of his roommates or the maid!"

Quinn gently pat her on the back. "What does Puck think of all this?"

Rachel shrugged. "How should I know? Puck's never home either and I don't want to get _too _comfortable with him seeking the comfort I need. It's _Sam_ I want."

After a few more minutes, Rachel was able to get her composure. Quinn leaned over and handed her a tissue. "Are you okay now, Rachel?"

Rachel nodded and blew her nose. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed to let it all out."

Quinn pat her back one more time and headed into the kitchen. "I'll get you some water, I know that helps you. Is there anything else on your mind you want to talk about?"

Rachel leaned her cheek in her hand and sighed. "I guess why I'm also miserable because of how things turned out for me."

"What do you mean?" Quinn inquired while sitting the glass of water before her.

She shrugged. "I mean…years and years of Broadway was starting to get redundant for me. And you know what? I thought _Funny Girl _would torpedo me to stardom but it _didn't_. I thought I'd become a household name, a girl who if you asked anyone in the street who she was, they'd know. But after the show…that was it. I wasn't getting calls from producers wanting to cast me, I wasn't getting movie deals or TV show deals in Hollywood…I had to audition for everything. As soon as she show was over, producers just thought of me as another actress with an impressive resume. I was just reduced to a wind up doll who got lucky…but I never had the fame and glamour I wanted."

Quinn nodded understandingly. "What made you want to come home?"

"It was my plan." Rachel replied simply. "I was gonna have my time to be a star and shine, and when I was ready, I would come home and settle down with Sam. As _soon _as I realized Broadway just wasn't working in my favor, I decided it was time to come home. And Sam and I _kind _of settled down…but not the way I planned either. Sam was a well-rounded firefighter and I became a…washed up Broadway babe with no alternative career goals. So I took up odd jobs just to help pay the rent and stuff but nothing's working!"

"There's still time-"Quinn began.

"No, there isn't!" Rachel snapped. "There is _no path _for me! Obviously Broadway didn't work well in my favor to push me further into stardom and there is _nothing _for me to do back home except be Sam's cheerleader that's underappreciated. I can't be a real estate agent like you, I can't fix cars or clean pools like Finn and Puck, I can't go to Firefighter School like Sam, I can't be a director like Artie…I'm almost thirty, there is _nothing _ for me!"

Cecelia suddenly started crying in her swing due to Rachel's outburst. Quinn frowned and hopped up to tend to her. "First off, I'll let you off the hook for startling my child with your little outburst. But Rachel, learn to control your temper."

Rachel took a few deep breathes and then drank her water. "Sorry about that."

Quinn placed a kiss on Cecelia's head and set her down again. "You've _always _been like this, Rachel, like a little spoilt child throwing a tantrum when something doesn't go your way. I _know_ you." She sat down across from her again and reached for her hands. "Would you like my honest advice?"

"Will I like it?" Rachel questioned curiously.

Quinn shook her head. "Doesn't matter, I've _always _been honest with you since high school and I feel that I'm the only person who's willing to dish out the truth to you. Life would be horrible if everyone just told you what you wanted to hear."

Rachel shrugged. "I suppose."

Quinn paused before answering. "You shouldn't have come home, Rachel."

Rachel furrowed her brows in confusion but Quinn continued. "You weren't _meant _to come home yet. Sure, you were in shows for 3 years but it takes _time _to rise to stardom. The overnight star thing is just a fantasy."

"But Barbra Steisand-"

"_YOU ARE NOT BARBRA STREISAND_!" Quinn shouted. "Gosh, you spent your life trying to copy her lifestyle thinking that everything good that happened to her will happen to _you_. Rachel, you are _not _Barbra. You've tried to be like her and where has that gotten you? _YOU_, Rachel Berry, can only make your own choices that shape your future. You just _can't_ expect your life to be like Barbra Streisand and I'm very well sure if you ask her too, she'll tell you to live your own life."

"So go back to New York and give Broadway another chance." She continued. "It's been your _dream_ and it's what you're good at. You weren't ready to come home, and who knows? Maybe something good will come out of it and you'll regret leaving in the first place."

Rachel swallowed, trying to take it all in. Quinn was right, she had given up easily and was blindsided trying to be just like Barbra. "What about Sam?"

"Sam is still new to his career path and _obviously _he's not ready to become a husband or father. Again, you weren't _ready _to come home yet." Quinn said. "Take me, for example. I finished college and decided to work on starting my career. And in the midst, Finn came back in my life and it just fell into place from there. Now, we're not getting married until he has everything figured out but we're pretty stable right now and settled down."

Rachel nodded and took another tissue. "You're right, Quinn. I gave it all up too easily and Sam wasn't ready yet. You just gave me a huge wake-up call."

Quinn smiled. "I told you, I think I'm the _only _one that can. Everyone else just sugarcoats and tells you what you want to hear because you're stubborn." She waited for Rachel to compose herself again. "So what are you going to do?"

Rachel shrugged. "I'm not sure…but I'll definitely keep going back to New York in mind. Maybe Kurt can cast me in one of his plays or get me an audition with someone."

Quinn nodded. "That's the spirit. Would you maybe like to stay for dinner?"

Rachel grinned. "Sure, I'd love to. But I think I'm going to call Kurt first."

Cecelia started coo-ing again so Quinn picked her up and handed her to Rachel. "Would you like to sing to her again while I start dinner?"

She started rocking her again as Cecelia looked at her curiously. "Sure thing, and I think I know what song to soothe her."

As Quinn started dinner, Rachel walked around the room while rocking the small baby. She looked out the window at the sun starting to set behind the houses and started reminiscing about the life she had before.

_Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away._

_Now it looks as though they're here to stay._

_Oh, I believe in yesterday._

_Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be._

_There's a shadow hanging over me._

_Oh, yesterday came suddenly._

"Is she asleep yet?" Quinn called from the kitchen.

"No, not yet." Rachel called back.

_Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say._

_I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday._

_Yesterday love was such an easy game to play._

_Now I need a place to hide away._

_Oh, I believe in yesterday._

_Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm_

**And CUT! That's a wrap. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


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